Here In Perfect Solitude
by jjmcm541
Summary: 7 years after the Teen Titans disbanded and Raven's disappearance. Life is really boring without the need for superheroes in a city without villains. However, that changes when a unwelcome and familiar face finds it's way back home to Jump City. Can the Titans find a way to concur this old threat? Or fall because they can't see past an old conflict? Robin X Starfire
1. Chapter 1

**This is the second time I've uploaded this story. I apologize because i had to delete my stories for personal reasons but they're back and better than ever! Newly edited and with improved wording/grammar! If you've read this story before just wait a while and the chapter you left off on will be back up soon.**

\- Thanks for starting my story! This story takes place 7 years after the Titans disbanded. Robin and Starfire and Beast Boy are now 23, Raven is 22, and Cyborg is 25.

\- Any and all criticism, that isn't obnoxious, is welcome. As well as any suggestions for the story within reason.

\- _Italics_ are used for emphasis on words and thoughts

\- Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans

* * *

\- 1 -

 **... Robin ...**

The night was cold as Richard Johnson sat back in his car and watched the drug deal go on just around the corner through his rear view mirror. His breathing was steady but anxious, waiting for the exchange to take place. He thought about calling for backup but almost immediately turned the idea down. _They'd never get here in time,_ Richard thought. I _gotta do this myself._

He wore a solid black sweater and black sweatpants with gloves. Wearing reflective sunglasses like he always did in public. No one had seen his eyes in years, and he intended to keep it that way. Usually he wouldn't hesitate to chase down the thug that was dealing but this time was different. He needed to follow the dealer, a stocky kid around 17 that was known around town as "High Mikey". His real name being Michael Smith, but that was all the cops knew. There were thousands of Michael Smiths in Jump City. He was the guy you went to when you were looking for a fix. He wore a black hoodie that covered his face, loose jeans and combat boots. The only problem was that the kid was untouchable. No one had ever seen his face and he evaded the cops so much that eventually they all stopped trying to arrest him. The chief wanted him to let this case die but Richard refused, even after 7 years his hero instinct forbid him from just walking away. He couldn't just watched as drugs were passed around Jump City like it was candy. He needed to put it to an end, even if it meant disobeying the chief and stalking Mikey during his off hours. He probably could run out and arrest Mikey now but that wouldn't solve anything. Only one more deadbeat in jail while two more drug dealers pop up in his place. Richard decided that the best action would be no action. Richard need to learn where the kid gets his supply and take the problem out by the root instead of just taking out the weed that would just grow back the first chance it got.

His eyes roamed back and forth between the deal going on and the billboard in the distance. The familiar model paraded her luxurious auburn hair saying it was made that way by some product. If he turned the TV on tonight, she'd be there. She was everywhere, her charming smile and flaming hair captivated all who witnessed it. Pure, naturally lime colored eyes with forest green pupils.

He needed to forget her, move on and have his own life. But he knew better. Richard knew the truth that that wasn't the case. The girl was someone Richard could never forget. The one he thought about regularly and felt immediate regret when he did so. _So many things left unsaid..._ He thought. Richard hit the steering wheel. I _was such an idiot. Acting rash without as much as an attempt to figure things out._

Richard turned his attention back to the deal for a distraction, reading the lips of the guy buying as best he could in the damp light. Only finding key words here and there to even have an idea of what they were talking about. _Supply… Cash… Pills… 200…_ The guy buying was in his late 40's with gray hair and wore a neatly pressed business suit, obviously just another rich businessman with too much money than he knows what to do with. He handed over a large sum of money over to Mikey and once the businessman had his drugs Richard watched as Mikey walked towards him. Richard slumped in his driver's seat, blending in with the darkness cause by the one and only street light 15 feet away. Mikey stopped walking and bent over to look inside Richards's car. Mikey made direct eye contact with Richard but didn't seem to notice, instead he stood back up and continued walking down the street. Richard made it a point to remember Mikey's blue eyes as it was the only facial feature visible. He silently got out of the car and tailed Mikey from at least a block away. _Where's he going?_ Richard thought.

Mikey turned right and down several streets before going down an alleyway. _Damn... I can't go down there otherwise he'll know he's being tailed._ Richard thought. That's when it struck him, if he couldn't go through it, he could go over it by going on the roof and following him from there. Richard rushed the broadside of the wall and climbed it with ease. He used every crack and brick to his advantage to climb the three story building in less than a few seconds. _Been a while since I did that._ Richard thought, smiling to himself that he still pulled the wall climb off flawlessly even though he hadn't done it in years. He took a few deep breaths and ran to the other side of the building and looked over the edge to see Mikey go into an abandoned building at the end of the ally. An excellent spot for a resupply. Secluded, vacant, not a streetlight or street camera for a while.

Richard jumped from rooftop to rooftop until he finally landed atop the building where Mikey had gone into. He searched for a way into the building until coming across a small overview window that revealed the entire place to be empty. No Mikey. _Impossible,_ Richard thought gritting his teeth. _He walked in there, I saw him. Where could he have gone?!_

"Hello Robin." A familiar voice called coolly from behind him. Robin turned and felt a shiver rush down his spine as he saw the face, well mask, of the person who called his former name. "Though you probably go by something different nowadays huh? Dick… Richard… Wayne… So many _names_ , so many _identities;_ it must be exhausting to keep track of them all. You're Robin, the hero of Jump City that suddenly disappeared 7 years ago when the Teen Titans split. You and your friends even have a statue in Central Park to reward your services. You're Dick Grayson, the original, world renowned celebrity and playboy and hair to the Wayne Fortune and future CEO of Wayne enterprises, son of billionaire and current CEO Bruce Wayne. Then you're Richard Johnson, of course John being your middle name not your last name. Not that it really matters when you make a fake identity to fill the void of no longer being a hero huh? You are said to be the one and only person in the city's history to become a Detective right out of the police academy due to exceptional skill and talent. _Talent…_ " He said with a chuckle. "Said like you were born with your skill and didn't have to earn it. Funny how it's easier for society to accept a natural born gift rather than something earned through hard work."

Richard took a step back, his eyes wide and filled with horror through his glasses. "You…" He said, pointing at the figure in front of him. "You're dead! You died ages ago! I watched you die right in front of me! You should've died with Trigun!" He scream loudly.

"Robin…" The figure said shaking his head. "I'm disappointed in you. I thought you of all people would know better than to trust their eyes and what they _think_ to be reality. I believe I tried to teach that to you when you were my apprentice for a little while. Being a hero is what gave you purpose… So you're reduced to _this_." He gestured his hand. "After the Teen Titans finally put away the last supervillain. Well, the last supervillain in Jump City at least. So instead of going back to Gotham to continue to live in Batman's shadow, or just moving to a different city with your team, or even joining the Justice League despite their constant invitations, you join the police academy. Not the FBI, not the CIA, but your friendly neighborhood police department. You chose to hang up the cape and mask to join the very corrupt system you hated from the beginning. That's why superheroes exist right? You fight against what no one else can. That's why you became a hero in the first place."

Robin shook his head once more. "What are you doing here Slade? And why have you come back?" Richard asked slowly, trying to regain the confidence in his voice.

"Maybe you were tired, _beaten_. Maybe the years of constant danger lost its adrenaline rush? Or maybe… The real reason is because of a certain redheaded beauty. The one that got away huh Robin? Or the one you _pushed_ away."

"Don't you dare bring Starfire into this!" Robin's jaw clenched and he felt his blood boil. He could feel his heart pounding. He remembered this feeling. Fear, anger, and excitement, all bundled together.

Slade chuckled lightly. "In due time Robin... In due time." Slade said, jumping behind him off the ledge of the building they stood on.

"Slade!" Richard said, running towards the ledge to find no evidence of Slade's fall. Richard sank onto the ledge. Staring down at the hard pavement below him.

 _Why now?_ Richard thought. The last time anyone saw Slade was when Trigon, Ravens demonic father, brought him back to life so he could reopen the portal and summon him to Earth. Slade made the deal to work for him in exchange for his mortality back. After Trigon betrayed Slade, there was a temporary truce between the Titans and him. Once Slade and Robin found their way to Raven, Slade disappeared. Once Trigun was defeated, everything went back to normal like nothing had ever happened. No one has seen Slade since then and Raven said that because her father was defeated, his magic went with him. That included that spell that resurrected Slade. He only wanted his life back and now… He has it. The question is, what is he going to do with it?

… **Cyborg …**

Victor Stone sat on the edge of his desk chair typing away at his computer. He wore his loose night clothes, a pair of black basketball shorts with a dark gray shirt. The room was pitch black, illuminated only by the surface of his computer screen. He was so close to figuring out the code for a new zero gravity inhibitor. This would finally unlock the potential for anti-gravity capabilities integration into society. Creating the technology is easy, but finding a way that it can introduced into everyday life was hard. It had to be perfect, and even then there was no telling what bugs might surface.

"Babe?" A sweet voice called from down the hall. "Where are you?"

"In the office." Vic called. He smiled when his girlfriend of 4 years came through the door of his apartment office with a cup of warm coffee in her hands. "Hey Jinx." He said with a sly smile.

Jinx smiled and sighed. "I wish you'd stop calling me that. I left my bad guy ways behind me. Just like you left looking like a robot behind you." She said, handing him the cup. Vic had perfected his biotech hologram shortly after the Titans broke-up. It made him look, feel and even react to things like a real person. He could feel touch on every part of his body now. It was like a costume that allowed him to be human, though in reality he was only half. Vic decided that his crime fighting days were done after the Titans and he needed to look to the future instead of the present. "How goes the program?" Jinx asked sweetly.

"I'm close. I'm trying to overcome the gravity problem that Jump City has. Seems that Jump City is right on top of a tectonic plate, meaning anytime there's an earthquake the system would bust." Vic said taking a drink. "Where's Silkie?"

Jinx waited until Vic finished explaining to start walking around his desk. "He's sleeping on the couch." She said. "So you gotta make the system adaptable to an earthquake or whatever?" Jinx asked, sitting in Vic's lap and placing a hand on his chest for balance.

"Yeah." He said placing his hand on her hip to get more comfortable. "Got to make it where cars get the lift they need but don't go flying off the road." He said with a chuckle.

Jinx giggled. "Maybe I can help." She said with a shy smile. "I have been known to cause a natural disaster or two."

Vic smiled. "I'll never understand how someone so beautiful can be so deadly." He kissed her on the cheek and pulled back stare into Jinx's eyes.

Jinx blushed and turned her head towards the door. "Alright Romeo, try and finish up." She said, getting up from his lap. She bent down and kissed Vic on the lips then hugged him softly, trying to keep the coffee from spilling out of her hand. "Even the CEO of Stone Technologies needs to rest. You still have human in you." She whispered in his ear, giving him a hug that he gladly returned. Jinx made her way out of the room, strutting as she did so because she knew Vic would be watching her hips swing.

Vic bit his bottom lip. _She did that on purpose,_ he thought with a smile. He went back to work, typing away at his code.

*Ring* *Ring* The phone next to Vic's desk rang. He picked it up and looked at the number, _Unknown._ Shrugging he pressed the answer button and placed it against his ear. "Hello?" He asked, trying to sound pleasant to his unknown caller.

"Cyborg?" A light yet masculine voice called. "It's Beast Boy! Or _Garfield,_ the lame name I go by now." He laughed into the phone.

Vic's eyes lit up. "BB? Is that you?" Vic asked, his voice picking up in excitement. Suddenly, Jinx came in the room to see what was making her boyfriend so loud. Vic placed his hand over the bottom of the phone. "It's Beast Boy!" He said in an excited whisper.

She nodded and winked, leaving the room satisfied to see that her boyfriend's stress seemed to almost disappear. _He works too hard, he needs to relax._ She made her way down the hall and to the bedroom, deciding that she'd surprise Vic when he came into the room with the new nightgown she bought. Knowing that seeing the revealing thin cloth would drive him crazy. _Guess we could both relieve some stress tonight._ She thought with a seductive giggle.

"Yeah it's me!" Garfield said through the phone. "I'm finally coming back to the city after my tour!" He said happily.

"Next time you go to Vegas for a show, you have to take me with you!" Vic said smiling. "When are you gonna be in town?"

"Well we're still on the tour bus right now. We just passed through Gotham and are nearing Metropolis now. Maybe 4 hours?" He said. "Tour buses are slow as hell haha."

Vic smiled, looking at the clock. "It's too late to meet you when you get here but I'll meet you at the Pizza Shack around noon." The usual hangout.

"Alright bro! Get some rest. Tell Jinx I said hi, and give her a good pounding haha." Garfield said.

Vic laughed, "You know it! Night dude."

"Night." Garfield said, hanging up.

Vic smiled as he put the phone back face down on his desk. It had been about 2 months since he'd seen his best friend. Garfield's stand-up comedian career finally took off about 6 months ago. He now opened for some of the biggest names in comedy and, he had to admit, he was pretty funny. He'd tell stories of what it was like as a Teen Titan, never saying their real names of course, only using their superhero names. Vic got up from his desk and sighed. He didn't feel like working at this point. He turned off his computer and made his way to his bedroom where he found a half-naked Jinx laying on the bed.

"Hey sexy." Jinx said, getting up from the bed and walking over to Vic. She placed a hand on his chest and kissed his heart through his shirt.

"Wow..." Vic said, feeling himself starting to get excited. "You're beautiful." He said taking her kissing her deeply then picking her up and placing her on his shoulder. He heard her squeal in glee a little bit at the sudden motion, walking the 3 feet to bed. He set her down on the bed and kissed her again. He felt her lips moving against his own and how her tongue just barely touched his lower lip. Vic growled and grabbed the back of her neck, pushing her towards him. It was an addiction. The taste of her lips and the way they moved in sync to each other. Vic pulled back and looked happily into her eyes. "Best early Christmas gift ever." He said trying to catch his breath. He leaned in and kissed her one more time until they both fell onto the bed to enjoy each other's embrace for the rest of the night.

… **Beast Boy …**

Garfield Logan stretched out on the bed and stared at the ceiling. He'd take a nap while he could, try not be crabby when he wakes up and unpacked all his luggage. After 5 weeks on the road it left him drained of all ability to even try and be productive. He had performed as an opener for almost every A-List comedian. A few producers came up to him and offered him contracts but he turned them away. He wanted to get better before he went big, plus he got to enjoy at least a little privacy unlike other celebrities. He rolled over and looked at the television in the corner. I _wish they had video games here,_ he thought to himself. I _haven't played Mega Monkey's 7 in a while._

*knock**knock* "Garfield, you in there?" His manager called. Jacob "Chuckling" Almond, one of the few people who watched Garfield when first started his comedy act. He believed in him from the beginning and has been there ever since. Garfield respected Jacob, but he hated that there was no real friendship between them, just a professional relationship. He always acted calm and never got angry. For a comedian's manager, he sure had an odd personality.

"What's up Jake?" Garfield called lazily.

"You got a phone call." He said holding out his phone.

Garfield looked skeptical. "Who is it? Another fan or something asking me to perform at a party?"

He smiled. "Her name's Rachel Roth." He said plainly. "Says she's an old friend?"

"Not ringing any bells." Garfield said. He sighed and held out his hand. "Might as well, might be just a fan wanting to talk to me." Jacob shrugged and handed him the phone then walked out the door to give Garfield privacy. Garfield's eyes narrowed as he looked down at the cell phone, contemplating if he should really answer it. He knew who was calling him, there was only one Rachel Roth. "You have a lot of nerve calling me, _Raven_." Silence on the other end of the phone. He knew she was there listening, having no idea what to say or do. So Garfield decided to continue. "Been about 7 years since any of us have seen you or even heard from you. You left without saying a word, disappearing into that dark portal, never to be seen again." He spat. He felt the anger in himself rise but tried pushing it down.

A small voice came from the other side. "I… I… I was scared."

"And you think I wasn't?!" Garfield asked, growing angrier with every word. "I poured my heart out to you Raven! I loved you and you never even bothered to reject me! You left without saying a God damn word and you… You let the Titans fall apart. Without you having left like that, we might still be together. _We_ might've actually been together." He said, sadness taking over where anger once stood. "I cried so hard when I found that note. I…" He sighed. "I don't even know anymore."

"I wish I could take it back." Rachel said sadly on the other line.

Garfield decided not to respond to that statement. "After all these years I still think back to that night. It was so much fun." Garfield started, hearing the brief sound of a weak chuckle on the other end. He couldn't help but feel a smile creep up onto his face as he reminisced. "The one and only night you and I became one. I felt so much love for you that it literally hurt to be away from you. That night I gave myself to you… Not as some horny teenager or as some player… As a lover and as someone who…" Garfield trailed off. He was speechless. He didn't know what else to say. Garfield knew Rachel would be crying right now. He was so mad at her and hurt by her and yet… All he wanted was to hold her and tell everything would be alright. That they could work through this and everything would be okay but… He knew better. "Why that night? Of all nights, why did you wait until we lost our virginity's?"

"I wanted…To love." Rachel said. "Ever since I was young, I'd never been able to feel love. The strongest emotion I felt was a friendship with the Titans. I knew I cared about you more than anyone else but it wasn't until we had sex that…" She paused. "It was like every emotion I had ever felt came and washed over me. It was like my spirit had been turned upside down. I didn't know how to handle it so… I left."

Garfield felt a lump in throat form. "Where did you go?" Garfield asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"Azarath." Rachel said on the other side.

 _Of course_ , Garfield thought. No better place to escape to than another dimension.

"I continued my training with the monks and gained balance." Rachel said.

"What does that mean?" Garfield asked.

"I can control my emotions now." She said with a brighter tone. "No more meditating for hours on end… No more random bursts of anger…"

Garfield felt his heart ache. "Is that why you came back?"

"Yes. I finished with my training 4 years ago. I've been living a normal life ever since I came back to Earth."

"You've been on Earth for 4 years?" Garfield asked dumbfounded. "Why are you just now calling?"

"I... I..."

"You were scared." Garfield finished.

"Yeah." Rachel said sadly.

There was a strong silence between the two, the tension continued to build in his chest until Garfield couldn't stop himself. He wanted to see her. "Where are you?" He asked nervously.

"Jump City." She said. "I'm in my dorm."

"Dorm? Like... _College_ dorm?" Garfield asked.

"Yes. That's what I've been doing for so long." Rachel said. "I love books and reading so I decided that I could put it to good use."

"Have you talked to the others yet?" Garfield asked.

"No." Rachel said hesitantly. "I will soon though."

Garfield smiled. "Well... Now that you're back. You think we could talk again some time?"

Rachel gave a halfhearted smile a little. "If that's what you want."

 _More than I can ever say._ Garfield thought. "Here, let me give you _my_ _number_ instead of my managers."

"Alright." Rachel said. She prepared her mind and listened as Garfield relayed the numbers. She normally could remember anything due to her fantastic memory, but her nerves were on end right now. She had to concentrate otherwise she wouldn't remember.

"You got it?" Garfield asked happily.

"Yeah." Rachel said with a smile. "I got it."

"Well... Until then. See you later?" Garfield said, it was more of a question than a statement. He wanted to trust that Raven wouldn't disappear again.

"I'll see you soon." Rachel said.

Garfield ended the call. Even though he was smiling, he felt sadness in his heart. _I'm so pathetic._ He thought chuckling to himself. _As soon as I heard her voice all my resolve melted away..._ He sighed and turned on his side in the bed. I _should probably tell Cyborg that Raven's back but… He might react badly. I guess I should just tell him she's back and leave the details alone._ Garfield laid on his side, using his arm as a pillow and stared at the phone in his other hand. He stared at the phone as his consciousness finally faded into a dreamless sleep.

… **Raven …**

Rachel Roth sat at her desk with a phone in a firm grip in her right hand. The desk was built between her room and the kitchen, something the college felt was necessary for some reason. She had a desk in her room but it felt spacious outside when no one was home. Like there was more air with an immaculate atmosphere. The left hand placed on top of books to ensure she didn't lose her place. She had to study for the tomorrow's final. If she passed, it would mean she could enjoy Christmas, only about 2 weeks away, to its fullest extent. She smiled as memories of her last Christmas with the Titans came flooding into her mind:

 **(Start Flashback)**

 _Cyborg had cooked a large turkey with stuffing for everybody. Beast Boy had made a meal almost completely out of tofu. Starfire and Robin making out on the couch, somehow Robin trying to teach Starfire about Christmas lead to a make out session. Raven sat on the opposite end of the couch and meditated. She'd grown accustomed to meditating with everyone there. Seeing as how whenever she tried meditating in her room she somehow always got dragged out, either by some emergency or one of the other Titans being bothersome._

" _Hey Rae!" Beast Boy said, grabbing his girlfriend's shoulder. "Come help set the table." He said happily._

 _"Okay." Raven got up from her position and walked over to the table. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Her eyes flash and suddenly dishware started flying from the cabinets to the table. Everything seemed to arrange itself perfectly in place to seat 5 people._

 _"Nice work guys." Robin said, walking up to the table with his hand interlocked with Starfire's._

 _Cyborg humphed. "You and Star macked on each other while we did everything." He said with a teasing smile._

 _"You're just jealous." Robin retorted. "You're the only one still single Cy."_

 _Cyborg laughed. "So you got yourself a girlfriend and suddenly you're better with the ladies?" He laughed, pretending to wipe a tear from his eye. "Remind me again how often you get laid?"_

 _Everyone except Starfire turned cherry red. Starfire tapped Robin on the shoulder. "Robin, why does Cyborg ask if you got laid down?" Her confusion grew when Cyborg and Beast Boy burst out laughing._

 _Raven smiled at her boyfriend's laughter. "I don't know what you're laughing at Beast Boy. You haven't gotten laid either." Cyborg lost it. He clutched his sides as he fell on the floor in the midst of his laughter._

 _"Stop... Haha stop... I can't haha... I can't take no more... My sides are gonna break!" He said. He calmed down a little and stood up, wiping real tears from his eyes. "Now that's funny."_

 _"So." Robin said trying to change the subject. "Let's eat."_

 _After the meal, the Titans decided it was finally time to give gifts._

 _Robin got a magical potion that'll give him enhanced reflexes and reaction speed from Raven, a plush toy robin (the bird) from Beast Boy, a new upgraded staff that could send electric shocks into an enemy from Cyborg, and a bottle of "her most favorite mustard" from Starfire._

 _Cyborg got a custom metal polish that is really rare and effective from Robin, a book of magical engineering from Raven, a Mega Monkey's 4 wireless controller from Beast Boy, and a homemade blurkberry pie from Starfire's home world Tameran._

 _Starfire got an incredibly soft teddy bear that held a heart made of what seemed like Egyptian cotton from Robin, Raven said her gift was a promise that she would participate in "girl time" with her, an organic planting set from Cyborg so Starfire could grow plants from her home planet, and a bottle of perfume from Beast Boy._

 _Raven got a leather bound Cosmic Sorcery book from a witch Robin arrested, a floating reading light that hovered suspended in the air from Cyborg, a makeup kit from Starfire so they could "have the makeover", and a framed picture of Her and her boyfriend together from Beast Boy signed "I'll always love you - BB"._

 _Beast Boy got a metal staff from Robin due to the fact that Beast Boy kept stealing his, an illegal copy of the not yet released game of Mega Money's 5 from Cyborg, a necklace from Starfire that had a dog's paw on it, and Raven said she would give her gift when they were alone. Robin and Cyborg awed at the romantic atmosphere between the two while Starfire once again looked confused._

 _That night would be the first and last the time all the Titan's laughed and socialized together like that. For when they woke up, a very important member of their team was missing with no trace as to where she had gone._

 **(End Flashback)**

Raven was brought back to reality by the sound of her roommate, Hailey, walking in from a long night of college partying and drinking. They'd been living together for almost a year now and she was a very considerate roommate. She never ate Rachel's food, touched her books, or even cared that she kept her room locked and didn't allow anyone in there. However, she was very immature when it came to college life. She could never turn down a party invitation. And even worse, she could never seem to keep a boyfriend. Rachel had lost count as to how many times. "Yo Rach!" She said drunkenly. "Whachu douen?" Her words slurred together in a way that slaughtered the English language.

"Studying." Rachel said. "Like you should be doing."

"Neh." Hailey said, flopping on the couch in an exhausted state. "Studying's too much work."

Rachel smiled. She turned around in her chair to ask how the party was but when she did, Hailey was passed out on the couch. She sighed and got up from her seat and walked over to the closet. She pulled a blanket out and threw it on top of Hailey. _You're too much work._ Rachel thought to herself with a smile. I _better get to bed to, I have an important day tomorrow._ Rachel thought, disappearing into her room for the night.

… **Starfire …**

Kori Anders stood outside over the balcony of her premium condo. The view, no matter how many times she saw it, was breathtaking. Her condo was on the outskirts of Jump City so from where stood, the city illuminated like it reflected the stars in the sky. In the morning she had a perfect view of the sunrise as it made its debut across the horizon. The view reminded her of when she once loved a certain hero. Together they would stay up all night and talk and cuddle, until finally ending their night together on the roof to watch the sunrise. Kori smiled at the happy memories, I _was such a kid back then._

Kori was now a world famous super model that had a brand named after her and even starred in a few movies. She was titled, "Sexiest Woman Alive" 2 times. Every women envied her and every man wanted to be with her.

After her hero days she and Richard stayed together in a condo much like this one. They lived together for a year, thoughts of marriage and a family swam in her mind. She was content with a small apartment but Richard's police work and Kori's up-and-coming modeling career, however, took its toll on their relationship. Constant long hours and exhaustion never allowed for them to spend any time together.

Kori was discovered by an agent when she and Richard were out for a walk. It was normal for the famous Dick Grayson to be followed by paparazzi often and to be seen with such a beauty was no real stretch of the imagination. Richard announced, as Dick Grayson of course, that he and Kori were dating. This sent the paparazzi ablaze. And as the two were followed more, it was obvious Kori had the talent for being in front of the camera. Before she could blink, she was off to Paris, England, America, and everywhere in between. Kori was on a plane more often than she was at home. Eventually time set its course. Due to so many bad experiences left Kori with the inability to control her flying for almost five years, derived from the fact that her flight was controlled through happy emotions... Best she has been able to do is a few feet off the ground. She thought of all the nights they spent together at the tower, and the night the two of them finally became one. She hadn't and hasn't felt so close to heaven in all her years.

She felt her feet begin to lift off the ground from the happy thoughts but a pair of strong arms found their way around Kori's shoulders, keeping her from levitating. "Waitin on the sunrise again?"

Kori sighed and turned, for a second she thought she say the young hero's face again but when she blinked, it was only her boyfriend Thomas. She grabbed his hands and smiled. "Yeah. It's just one of the joys of life." She looked down and chuckled to herself. "Any reason you're naked?"

Thomas pressed his face to the back of her head and smiled against her hair. "Well after we had our fun I didn't wanna get dressed."

"Aren't you cold?"

Thomas grabbed Kori's hips and swung them closer to hers. "Now with you around hot stuff."

Kori smiled. "Dawns only an hour away. Wanna watch the sunrise?" She asked, though she knew his answer.

"Thanks but I gotta get ready for the day." Thomas said.

"Wanna do something? I have to be on a plane in only a few hours." She asked.

"Can't." Thomas said moving closer to Kori. "I already got plans with the guys."

 _Another day of anti-romanticism it is then._ Kori thought. This wasn't an unusual thing between the two. With Kori's busy schedule and Thomas's inability to separate from his friends for more than a little bit of time. Even their first date was a double date. Thomas also had an inability to be romantic, always straight to sex. Dates felt like they were out of obligation instead of pleasure. There was little emotional or intellectual connection. They'd been together a year and a half and yet none of that changed.

"What do you have to do?" Thomas asked, kissing where Kori's neck and clavicle met.

Kori sighed pleasurably. "Gotta pack for Paris. Tomorrow's the World Famous Christmas Fashion Show. I'm headlining the show again this year... My French is a little rusty though… I'd say about three days from now." She said with a smile.

Thomas hugged his girlfriend again and started to head inside. "I'ma take a shower." He said closing the door behind him.

Kori stared at the horizon. Shades of pink and yellow illuminated from the coast, giving the impression that it was slowly being consumed by light. Her thoughts were centered on that young hero from her adolescence. _Six years and I still can't keep my mind away from him. I hate him. Six years and I would still... Give the world to be with him again._ Kori thought. She sighed and massaged the back of her neck, remembering how _he_ used to melt her stress away with a single touch. Kori pulled her hand away. "Alright." She said to herself, breathing out steadily. "I really need to distract myself." She decided to join Thomas in the shower, once again hoping to use him to forget about the young hero she could never seem to get off her mind. But just like every other time, it didn't. She felt guilt at times for doing this but overall it made Thomas happy so she put it out of her mind.

No one, no matter their skill in bed or romantic ideals could ever hold a torch to Richard. The love she felt for him was unquestionable. However, it wasn't like she didn't care for Thomas but she never really shook her first love from her mind. Maybe this is what it means to have, "the one that got away".

After Kori finished her packing she placed both her suitcases at the front door and smiled. _This'll be fun, I just know it._ She thought. "Thomas!" She called.

Thomas appeared with a toothbrush in his mouth. He held up one finger, "mmmhm!" He said, running to the bathroom. After several rounds of spitting and gargling he came running back to her. He wrapped his hands around her waist and kissed her deeply. "Have a good trip babe." Kori returned the kiss.

"Have fun." She said picking her suitcases. "Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."

"No promises." He said with a smile, watching as his girlfriend disappeared down the hallway.

Kori met her driver outside the complex and smiled. He was a rough-looking man, ex-military that served as both her bodyguard and driver. Anytime she went out of the city he was there. Though never really used for protection because Kori proved she could handle herself. "Did I keep you waiting long, Michael?" She asked sweetly.

"No more than usual Ms. Anders." He said through a smile. "Always a pleasure to wait on a beautiful woman." Kori giggled

Kori placed her bags in the trunk and sighed. "3 days away from home huh?" She opened the door to her back seat and got in, ready to hurry up and get back home so she could enjoy Christmas with her boyfriend in peace.

Thomas sat on the couch and flipped through the channels of the television when the doorbell rang. He sprung from the couch and ran over to the door. Smiling widely once he opened it. "Hey sexy."

A pale woman with long blonde hair and devilishly black eyes smiled. "So how long is she gone this time?" She asked with a seductive smile.

"3 days." He answered.

The woman placed her hands on his chest. "Then there's not a lot of time to waste." She leaned in and kissed his lips, pushing him back into the condo and slamming the door behind her.

* * *

\- What does Slade want with his new found life? How did Cyborg and Jinx get together? Can Beast Boy find the strength to confront Raven? How will Raven react to Beast Boy? Will Starfire find out about Thomas's home wrecking ways? Who is the mysterious woman? WHEN WILL MY PIZZA ROLLS BE OUT OF THE OVEN?! Stay tuned!

\- Any thoughts, comments, reviews are welcomed. Don't forget to follow and favorite for more updates.

\- As always guys, thanks for reading and I hope to see you in the next chapter.

 **Author's Notes:**

\- Robin isn't a loner. He has friends that are also detectives (will be seen later) and he isn't romantically crippled by his and Star's breakup. He's _tried_ to move on like she has. Even though they both really still love each other. The story of their breakup will be told in a future chapter along with Beast Boy and Ravens in greater detail.

\- WARNING: I will be making a lemons in later chapters.

\- In Starfire's defense, she did what I think every person does after falling out of love with someone. Try to move on. Though she isn't human. I think that trying to find love in someone else is a natural response. So I don't want people thinking I made her a slut or something like that.

\- As the story progresses, I'll start using their superhero names more but for now they aren't hero's anymore. So I can't use their superhero names if they aren't heroes.


	2. Chapter 2

\- This story takes place 7 years after the Titans disbanded. Robin and Starfire and Beast Boy are now 23, Raven is 22, and Cyborg is 25.

\- Any and all criticism, that isn't obnoxious, is welcome. As well as any suggestions for the story within reason.

\- Italics are used for emphasis on words and thoughts

\- Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans

* * *

\- 2 -

4 days later

... Cyborg ...

"So Raven's back huh?" Vic asked, tapping the edge of his fork on his plate. Garfield nodded as he ate his tofu salad quietly. Every night since Garfield had been back he'd eaten dinner with Jinx and Vic. Talking about the comedy tour and how Vic's new project was going. Vic hit the edge of his plate too hard and it sent a loud *cling* through the kitchen.

"Be careful not to break the plate, its bad luck." Jinx said with a smile, trying to at least lighten the solemn mood a little. Vic smiled at the joke.

"Have you seen her yet?" Vic asked.

Garfield shook his head. "No, all we've done is talk over the phone."

Jinx frowned. "She's being defensive." She said. Both boys turned towards her for a further explanation. "Well uh... You see." She held her hands up. "It's a girl thing. No matter how tough a girl might seem, i.e. Raven, she still worries. From what I can guess, as a girl, is she's scared." She looked over to Garfield. "I'm sure just calling you took every ounce of her courage. She may just not be ready to meet."

Vic sighed. "Still hurts she didn't call any of us too."

Jinx grabbed her boyfriend's hand and rubbed the top of his hand with her thumb. "I know but she didn't do it out of spite. She's just in a bad place."

Garfield grumbled under his breath. "Hey." He said looking up at Jinx. "Speaking of old friends. How's the other members of the Hive?"

Jinx sighed. "Cyclops, Mammoth and Shadow are in Arkham Prison after they failed trying to rob a bank in Gotham."

Garfield laughed. "Batman doesn't take shit from anybody."

Jinx smiled and continued. "As for Gizmo... I'm not sure. He kinda dropped off the map. I hope he's doing okay." She trailed off in thought.

Vic chuckled. "Probably hacking into banks and livin the good life."

"Probably. He could hack into any system so if he wanted to he could lay low and make sure no one found him if that's what he would do. I think he was only with us because he was bored. I picture him living off cyber-money he ripped off from the banks." Jinx said.

Garfield smiled. "Cy, remember that time Gizmo and I went inside you to stop a computer virus?"

"Are you kidding me? I've never been so full in my life!"

Garfield laughed. "Good times. I remember Robin flipping out when I told him that it was just a video game. I think that's the closest he's ever come to hitting me for real."

Jinx, oblivious to the current topic, "speaking of Robin, how is the 'Boy in Spandex' doing? He and that Starfire chick get married yet? Haven't seen either of them since the Brotherhood of Evil incidence." She said with a chuckle.

Garfield and Vic looked at each other and frowned. Vic cleared his throat. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you but…" Vic's voice faded. It was hard subject, for all of them.

"They broke up." Garfield finished. Jinx's eyes went wide.

"Holy Hell… Wasn't expecting that… What happened? They were the perfect couple from what I saw!"

Vic nodded. "It happened a year after the Titans split."

(Start Flashback)

Starfire hummed a song as she washed the dishes in her sink. She and Robin bought a single bedroom apartment on the urban side of Jump City. Starfire was in pure bliss, she couldn't contain her happiness. In her opinion, this was paradise. Living with the man she loved in a comfortable home, though small, was more than she could ever have wanted. She had already started to love a normal life more than her hero life. Calm, peaceful and always full of happiness. She stayed home and took care of the house and unpacked their boxes while Robin went to the police academy under some fake name Starfire already forgot. However, every weekend she went and did a photoshoot for her manager. Apparently her look was exactly what beauty products wanted. They always asked her to appear more often so she would gain fame but she could care less about fame, as long as she could stay with Robin. "Hmmmm hm hmm hm." She sang. She heard the door open and close from across the apartment and saw her devilishly handsome boyfriend drop his bag. "Robin!" She exclaimed, drying her hands quickly then rushing over the Robin. "Welcome home!" She kissed him on the lips. "I was missing you all day. I unpacked the boxes, did the cleaning, and even watched some on the TV that normal Earth women watch." She smiled brightly. Robin didn't respond, instead he stared daggers at the ground below him. "Robin? Is everything alright? You seem to be... Troubled."

He sighed. "Star. I've been thinking." He paused. "Is this really alright? This... Life. Is this what you want?"

Starfire tilted her head. "What do you mean Robin?"

"We hardly see each other Star... With me at the academy and you modeling... I don't know why but..." Robin paused. For the first time in the young man's life he felt true and genuine... Fear. This woman before him could bench press a school bus without breaking a sweat. He both feared and adored her. But he felt an ache in his heart that couldn't be explained. The love he once felt seemed to have shrunken in their time together. They were heading separate ways in life and Robin couldn't hold Starfire back anymore. She wanted what Robin couldn't give her, a simple life. He couldn't settle down with the woman of his dreams and live a peaceful life... That wasn't him... That wasn't who Robin was meant to be. "Star... I... I'm leaving."

Starfire looked at her 'boyfriend' confused. "What do you mean? You just got here." She said smiling. "Now come. Dinner is almost done." She reached for his hand but Robin pulled away.

"I'm sorry Star. We're breaking up." Robin said, choking on his words. "I'll pack my things."

"Why would you want to do the breaking up? Did I do something to hurt you?"

Robin bit his lower lip. "No Star it's… It's me. I can't be what you want. I can't be… this." He gestured to the apartment. "This life makes you happy. You're better off without me!"

"I want you Robin!" Starfire scream but Robin was no longer listening. He stayed in silence until he managed to get his things and leave, never turning back. Robin felt pain in his heart but chose to believe he'd done the right thing.

(End Flashback)

"Oh my God! What a dick move! I can't believe Robin would do something so horrible!" Jinx cried, looking back and forth between Vic and Garfield for support but didn't find any.

Garfield grumbled. "It's understandable." He said.

"What could possibly justify breaking up with someone because they couldn't work things out? Or that he would just straight up leave for such an idiot reason?" Jinx said. She looked to her boyfriend for support but found him looking at her with pleading eyes.

"There's something I never told you Jinx." Vic said. "I had the thought of doing exactly what Robin did when we started dating."

Jinx's eyes went wide. "You what?" She gasped.

"I was scared." He said plainly. "I wasn't even 18 yet and you were my enemy not even the year before. I was having an identity crisis. Being a hero was all I knew... It wasn't easy to give up and try to live a normal life."

Garfield jumped into the conversation. "We aren't saying we agree with his decision to break things off. We're just saying we understand his frame of mind. I went through the same thing. Being a hero was Robin's whole world, like it was ours, giving that up makes you feel... Empty." Garfield sighed. "It's like losing a part of yourself. The part that tells you who you are as a person. Except Robin fought instead of letting his part turn into what we are now. Civilians."

Jinx frowned. "I know what you mean... It made me cringe to have to start paying for things I wanted. I was so used to taking whatever I wanted. To just adapt to earning things was a nightmare. I often thought about going back to being a villain but I chose Vic over that." She grabbed his hand and smiled at him.

Vic smiled back. "Being a hero was Robin's whole world. A world he couldn't let go of."

Garfield sighed. "And because he couldn't let go, his world shattered and it cost him everything."

... Raven ...

Rachel laid on the couch and watched TV in her small 2 bedroom dorm. Hailey was in the kitchen making a sandwich. Today was Thursday and the last day before the end of the semester so Hailey and Rachel decided to stay home and watch a movie. Some roommate quality time before the two parted ways for the Christmas break. Hailey would go back to her home in Gotham and Rachel would stay back in her dorm, reading and enjoying her solitude for the next few weeks.

"Why don't you come to Gotham with me? You can spend Christmas with my family." Hailey asked from the kitchen.

"Sorry, Christmas has never really been an important holiday to me." Rachel lied. In reality she loved the holiday, but ever since her Christmas 7 years ago it'd never been the same. Every year it felt like a normal day compared to how it felt back then. Hailey walked out of the kitchen and turned off all the lights as she entered the living room.

"So today makes it our second Christmas celebration together but still separated." Hailey said, plopping down in the chair next to Rachel.

"Yup." Rachel said. "I remember when you first moved in I was preparing myself for the worst." She chuckled.

"Yeah." Hailey smiled. "I remember thinking, 'this chick is gonna kill me in my sleep'."

Rachel pressed play on the movie and the trailers for old movies started to play. "How'd the exam go? Did you pass?"

"Barely." Hailey said with a smile. "We can't all study 24/7 like you."

"I don't study 24/7." Rachel defended.

"Or read." Hailey added.

Rachel laughed. "Now that I can't deny."

Hailey laughed. "So how'd your exam go? Get an A or an A+?"

"A+" Rachel said with a smile. "How close are you to your masters?"

"15 more hours and I'm done for good."

"Wow, didn't know culinary took so much work."

"Well it's not as hard as studying literature. I mean that's insane. There are countless works of literature from thousands of years ago that you have to study and research, you have to be obsessed with reading not just love it." Hailey cried. "What are you wanting to do anyway?"

"I want to help criminals." Rachel laughed as Hailey sat up in her chair and looked at Rachel in disbelief.

"No way!" She said. "Why the hell would you want to help those guys of all people? Is a high school teacher not stressful enough already?"

"No." Rachel said with a chuckle. "I just wanna give them a second chance. Most of the people in there can't read or write, never had anyone to take the time and help them. Figured it'd be fulfilling work."

"Yeah, as you are threatened with being stabbed everyday." Hailey said.

"No, actually I'll only get the best behaved prisoners. Plus, I'll have guards with me at all times." Rachel said, trying to reassure her friend. In reality she didn't fear anyone. There was no way a normal prisoner could even hope to hurt her. She would sooner blast those prisoners into another dimension before she allowed any of them to even get close to hurt her.

"I sure couldn't do it." Hailey laughed. "But that's just me."

The two watched the movie, commenting here and there about stupid things the characters did. "Hey, you know what sounds like a great idea?" Hailey asked sarcastically. Rachel looked up at her. "Going into the creepy old building you just was haunted." She said with a smile.

"That sounds amazing!" Rachel said with a smile. "Afterward we can go our separate ways to look for ghosts!" She said sarcastically. They both laughed and continued watching the movie. Enjoying the small comment each other made. Making the scary movie seem almost like a comedy to an extent.

After the movie, the two got up from their positions and stretched. "I'm gonna go to bed." Hailey said. "Try not to make too much noise when you come in tonight."

Rachel smiled. "I won't."

"What are you gonna look for this time?"

"To be honest I have no idea. Maybe I'll get some Christmas stories to pass the time for the holiday."

"If you find a book on deserts at that bookstore pick one up for me. I'll pay you back. I need to make a new recipe for brownies. You can be my taste tester." Hailey said with a wink and smile.

"I swear, I'm gonna get fat eating your food." Rachel laughed. Hailey walked back into the kitchen to wash her plate and put it away. Rachel got her dark purple jacket on and headed toward the door. "Good night Hailey. I'll be back in a few hours."

"Alright! See you tomorrow!" She called from the kitchen.

Raven smiled and opened then closed the door behind her. Should be interesting to see what the old lady got in stock today. Every thursday was shipment day for the old bookstore down the street. It was run by an old lady that seemed to be one of the only people who loved reading as much as she did. She passed several night clubs, listening to the electronic buzz and thumping as she passed. She never could understand just how people could stand to stay in such an awful place.

Rachel opened the door to the shop and saw the old lady carrying a box onto the main desk. "Good evening dear." The old women said with a smile. "You're right on time. The package just arrived." Rachel smiled as she closed the door behind her, enjoying the warm atmosphere of the comforting store.

... Robin ...

Richard sat at his desk as he went over several files from the day's arrests. All the Detectives were centered in one area while the normal officers were spread out through the building. He searched and searched but found no connection between Mikey or Slade. Files as old as 20 years proved to be unhelpful. Was Mikey a pawn in Slade's game? Was Mikey even involved at all?

"Johnson!" The JCPD Chief of Police called from down the hall.

Richard snapped out of his trance. "Yes sir?" He asked.

"In my office." The Chief said, pointing to the chair inside his office. Richard made his way inside and sat down in the chair in front of the Chief's desk. The Chief took his time sitting down and looking at Richard. "Care to tell me what you're doing pulling almost 20 year old files on Supervillain Deathstroke? You know these files are to stay locked up unless I gave the okay that they're valid."

"Sir. I have reason to believe that Mikey is connected to Deathstroke." Richard said.

"Deathstroke? How in God's Green Earth is a dead supervillain connected to a lowly drug dealing teenager?"

"I saw him sir! I was following Mikey and I saw him with my own eyes!" Richard said, his voice growing in volume.

"Enough Johnson! You weren't even supposed to be tailing Mikey in the first place!" The chief yelled over him. He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. "You're a good Detective Johnson... You're dedicated and strong willed. You've pulled more criminals off the streets in the 6 years you've been here than most cops do in their entire career." He said. "However, pulling classified files without authorization can not be overlooked. I have no choice, you're on probation until further notice. I don't have to tell you what this means." The chief said seriously.

Richard knew exactly what it meant. If I so much as think about stepping out of line… The chief will suspend me… If not fire me. "I understand Sir."

"Good, now go out on patrol until your shifts up."

With that, Richard got up from his seat and walked out the office, closing the door behind him. "Yo Rich." He turned to see Detective Smith waving and running up to him. "What'd the Cap want?"

Richard sighed. "He's being pissy cause I pulled some files on a super villain."

Smith hit on Richard on the shoulder. Richard almost laughed at how slow and weak the hit was. In the time it took him to throw the punch Richard could've knocked him out 6 different ways and not have broken a sweat. Instead, Richard closed his eyes so his reflexes wouldn't take over and hurt his friend. He faked a grimace to convince that he felt it when the hit connected. "Dumbass." Smith said laughing. Richard couldn't stop himself from smiling back. Smith was his partner during the academy and the two just clicked. He made Detective the year after Richard had, and ever since the two had worked on cases together. However with the recent Mikey cases Richard has chosen to go solo more often than not. In a way, ever since he was a child, Richard never has been able to shake the desire to have a partner in crime… Crime fighting that is. "Wanna grab a drink after your patrol? James, Bart, and Dan are meeting us there. You know Beth? The hottie from accounting? She supposed to be there too." Smith knew Richard didn't drink but he wanted to hang out and having a good time with his friend after work. "Don't worry they have water and soda." He added with a smile.

"Uh sure. Why not?" Richard said, trying his best to smile at the irritating proposal. Relaxing was never his strong suit but he figured it couldn't hurt to entertain his friend for a night. Guess I could relax for one night.

Richard was sitting patiently in his car, holding to trigger to his speedometer reader. Screen every car that passed by. He sat on the lower part of the highway so that when someone rushed over that hill, they wouldn't be able to see him and slow down fast enough. It was Saturday night, there would be a speed demon rushing down the road any minute. And almost on cue, there he was. The dumbass driving his Charger well over a 100 in a 60. Took him long enough. He thought. He flipped the lights on and floored the gas pedal. Richard dodge cars left and right, trying desperately to catch up to the assailant. The Charger pulled off the highway and turned down a few streets obviously trying to lose him. He hit a few stop signs and even a mailbox before ultimately turning down a dirt road and coming to an end. Shame, Richard thought, the chase was just getting fun.

The man, around Richards age with more facial hair and tattoos, got out and pointed a gun. "Don't move! I don't wanna hurt you! I can't go back to jail! I won't!" The man yelled.

Richard got out of his car and smirked. He closed the door behind him and started to slowly walk towards the man.

"Stop man! I have a gun!"

"That's adorable." Richard said through a smile.

The man fired at Richard but missed as he had side stepped around to the man's side in the blink of an eye. The sound of the bullet hitting a metal sign echoed. He looked at Richard, ready to fire again. "What the Hell?" Richard reached for the man and dislocated both of his wrists with a pinch of his hand. "AHHHHH!" The man cried. Richard slammed the man to the ground and shoved his head down. "WHAT THE... WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?!" The man yelled.

Richard smiled. "I'm the cop that's bringing you in." He pulled the mans hands behind his back and handcuffed his still limp wrists. After the man winced in pain at the sudden movement, he almost cried when Richard popped them back into place.

"Lets go buddy." He lifted the man up and threw him into his back seat. Before closing the door, the man needed to be read his rights. "You are under arrest for speeding, destruction of public and private property, and threatening and attempting to harm an officer. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in court. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be-"

"How the fuck did you do that?"

"I get paid to do this."

"You really need to get laid."

Richard groaned and slammed the man into the car, locking the door so he couldn't get out. He got back into the drivers seat and called for the tow truck to come pick up the car. Richard put the car into drive and sped away at full speed, testing his driving skill as he headed toward the station. They sat in silence, listening to the car bounce over bumps in the road, until the man spoke up.

"What's your name?" The man asked.

"Doesn't matter." Richard said.

"Come on, I deserve to know the name of the guy that arrested me." He stated.

Richard sighed. It didn't matter, this guy was going to jail anyway. "Richard Johnson."

"My names Patrick Todd."

"That's nice." Richard said, trying his best to avoid getting into a conversation with this punk.

"Do you enjoy busting up normal guys like me, Richard?"

"More than life itself." Richard said with a smile. It was closest he could get to being a superhero again.

"My girlfriend's gonna kill me for this…you sure you had to bring me in?" Patrick said.

"Shooting at an officer is a felony." He couldn't help but sneak a glance in the rear view mirror. This fuck-up had a girlfriend? Richard sat at the stoplight and stared at a billboard of Starfire, this time it illuminated her her alien green eyes for some masquara line or something like that.

Patrick noticed this and smiled. "Damn, she's a hot piece of ass isn't she?" Patrick said. "I think just about any guy would kill to be with her."

Richard frowned. I would kill to just see her again.

... Starfire ...

"Hey babe, do we have any beer?" Thomas called from the living room.

"Check the fridge!" Kori called from the bathroom. She finished her makeup and hair. Now all she had to do was put on her dress and head to the bar.

"Found it!" She heard from the other room.

She came out of the room and looked at her boyfriend who say comfortably on the couch watching television. "How do I look?" She asked sweetly.

"Hot date tonight?" He asked playfully.

"Drinks with the girls." She said.

Thomas ran over to his girlfriend. "I wish you'd stay here and keep me company. We could cuddle and watch a movie, might lead to a little somethin-somethin."

Kori stopped. "That actually does sound nice. But I'm not really in the mood tonight."

Thomas sighed. "Well than I get to pick the movie."

"That's not fair." Kori said, growing frustrated but still playing along.

Thomas grabbed Kori's hips and pulled them closer. "Don't worry babe. Daddy's got you."

Kori felt anger grow inside her. "Don't wait up." She said, shoving Thomas's hands away.

"Kori, what the fu-" Kori slammed the door behind her when he walked out, locking it behind her. She fumed as she made her way outside and towards the bar down the street. He always did that. Treating her like a child and acting as if she is dependent on his every word. He lives in her apartment for Christ's sake! How could he possibly think that she needed him out of obligation? She was with him because…. Well because… Kori's mind went blank. Why was she with him? They had little to nothing in common. He could make Kori laugh but that wasn't hard to do in the first place. Guess I never really thought about it. Kori thought. She opened the doors to the bar and almost immediately was struck with the electronic bass of the thumping club.

Some things about human life had never made sense to Kori. The girls she modeled with barely ate and chain-smoked the entire damn day, shunning the big carb-filled meals that Kori ingested three times a day. But every Friday night, without fail, all of them went to bars and drank down hundreds of dollars worth of girlie shots and other drinks. She didn't get it, but she went with them every week anyway when they were in town. She concluded they were her new friends now and she might as well get used to it.

From the first moment she sat down, Kori wasn't feeling herself. She sat on the bar, the pounding music and giggling of her coworkers filtering in and out of her brain as she drank down martini after martini, chasing that elusive buzz. As an alien calories had no impact on her, but that also meant that she had an incredible alcohol tolerance. The only time she'd ever been drunk was after 25 consecutive shots on her twenty-first birthday. She figured it'd take at least ten tonight to get her buzzed, so she'd better start now.

"Kori!" Her friend, Susan, called from a few feet away. "Meet us at the cafe across the street when you finish up!"

"I'll be there in a little bit!" She waved, turning back to her drink. She sighed as she took another sip.

"Kori? Is that what they're calling you these days?"

She turned to the voice and gave a crooked smile. "Well. If it isn't the Boy Wonder." Why is he here? He doesn't drink.

"Let me buy you a drink Star." He said pleasantly.

"Don't call me that." She hissed. "I gave up that name, remember?" She turned to face him. "Why are you here? You don't like alcohol."

Richard held up his beer. "Non-alcoholic." He said with a smile. "Tastes like soda in a way."

Kori winced. "I always did hate carbonated drinks."

Richard frowned. He took the open seat next to Kori. "How have you been?"

Kori ignored him and instead called for the bartender. "Another drink please!"

"Put it on my tab." Richard said as the bartender nodded and handed Kori her drink.

"Still trying to be the knight in shining armor huh?" Kori asked in a disgusted tone. "Your kindness is the last thing I want Dick." She said, making his name sound like an insult.

Richard remained cool and collected. "Can't an old friend buy another a drink?" He asked with a smile. He felt his cheeks hurt by how much it was taking to force a smile. In reality he was shocked. Her green eyes were so, so cold. Her Tamaranian accent was gone. If he didn't know her, he'd have thought she was born on Earth.

Kori downed her drink and slammed it on the table, cracking the glass but not breaking it. "After what you did to me you think we're friends? You think after everything I went through that we could ever be friends again?"

Richard looked down at his beer. He was shocked at how the warm and bubbly Starfire, turned into the cold and resentful Kori Anders. He stayed silent for a few minutes, choosing his next words carefully. "This city really has changed you Sta... Kori." He said reluctantly.

Her name sounded like poison coming from his mouth. "Looks like it hasn't changed you. Still chasing the bad guys Detective Grayson?"

"I'm going by a fake name while I'm a cop. They wouldn't have hired me if they knew where I came from or who I was. So I made a fake profile and back story. Figured I'd enjoy being a cop before Bruce finally decided it's time for me to take over the company." He said. "Till then it's Richard Johnson."

Kori chuckled. "Both names that describe you." She sighed. "When you go back to Gotham to take over for Bruce. Are you planning to pick up the cape and cowl again? Or will you try and live a normal life?"

Richard chuckled. "My life will never be _normal_." He stepped beside Kori and leaned on the bar. "After I take over the company I was planning on helping Bruce as Nightwing." He smiled, remembering when Kori traveled in time and defeated the Time Thief called Warp. She came back and told the Titans about their future and how Robin would eventually take up the mantel Nightwing. In reality, that was the only reason he even chose that name. In a sense it made him chuckle how the future might have changed a little but in the end, the Titans still split up and he would eventually become Nightwing.

"Figured." Kori scoffed.

Richard once again ignored the sourness in her voice. "Whats new?" He asked, once again trying to sound pleasant.

"I've been to almost every country in the world because I'm a supermodel who's face and body is known everywhere. I have a pristine high rise condo on the south side of the city that overlooks the ocean, where my boyfriend is waiting for me." Kori sighed. She looked up toward the bartender. "Can I get another please?" She asked irritably.

The word stung in his chest. Boyfriend huh? He thought to himself. Richard adjusted his sunglasses and gave another fake smile. "As long as you're happy Kori. I'm happy."

Kori stopped mid shot and looked at Richard with a death-radiating stare. She grabbed his shirt by the collar and picked him up with ease. His feet dangled but he didn't struggle. Kori might be incredibly strong but Robin could still take her down if she tried to hurt him, but that wasn't why he didn't move. He felt that any punishment she felt necessary he would accept, no matter how painful it may be. Kori leaned in close to Richard's ear. "You have no fucking right to say that to me." She gritted through her teeth. "Six year ago you said you just wanted to be friends." Richard felt a cold tingle down his spine. "I've moved on." She said, shoving him back into his seat. She grabbed her purse and took money out to pay the bartender for the drinks. She turned back to Richard with a cold stare. "Looks like you still need to." And with that, she turned and walked out the door. She felt her eyes sting as she left the bar and turned the corner to head home.

She'd forgotten about her friends at the cafe. All she wanted now was to go home and forget the hero's face, knowing it was pointless. She knew that he was forever embedded in his mind, body, and soul. As she passed the people in the crowd she neared the intersection of Main Street, she started running, slow at first but gaining speed until ultimately slamming into a woman when she wasn't paying attention. 4 books fell to the ground with a thud and landed open. A book on dessert recipes, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, All Through The Night by Mary Higgins Clark, and The Christmas Train by David Baldacci. Kori quickly made her way to pick up the books and hand them to the woman but paused when she went to hand them to her. "Oh God, I'm so..." Her words were cut off when she found who she'd run into. Her eyes widened as she collected her thoughts. "Raven?"

Richard sat at the bar and stared at his drink. Damn. He thought. I can't ask her for help with the way things are. There's no telling what Slade is up to.

... Slade ...

Two henchmen stood outside the warehouse near the docks that housed Slade's base of operations. The docks were connected to the main oil supply of Jump City. Oil was the blood of the city's economy, all export and import depended on its profitability. Which, as anyone could guess, made the city very wealthy. They paced back and forth, keeping watch to make sure no one even came close to the warehouse. They stood shoulder to shoulder and looked out at the ocean as the dawn made its way over the horizon.

"So how'd you end up working here?" The 1st asked, trying to dull the silence.

"Dropped out of high school. I signed up thinking this was a construction job but found it to be this."

"Why'd you stay?"

"Pay's too good to pass up. We're getting paid a thousand a night to stand here and look pretty." The 2nd responded. "What about you?"

"I couldn't get into the military because I have a busted shoulder. But when I was contacted for 'Security' I was all over it. Didn't know it was this till I got here." The 1st henchman said. There was a long silence between them until he spoke up again to try and pass the time. "What do you think the boss's plan is?"

"No idea. Slade's a hardass when it comes to secrets."

"Really now?" They both felt a hand placed on their shoulder and turned to see Slade towering behind them. He had a good 6 inches on both the guards as he bent down to speak to the henchmen. His eyes curved underneath his mask to seem as if he were smiling. Though his grip was tight on the two guards, enough to not hurt them but also enough to make sure they couldn't move away. "Would you like to hear my plan?"

They both nodded and Slade sighed. "I know you both are loyal so I figure it's only fair you know what you're guarding." He stood straight up and walked back to the front door of the warehouse. "Follow me gentlemen. It's dawn. Anyone who would want to attack is long gone. So your services are done for the night. I'll explain everything inside."

They both looked at each other and reluctantly followed behind their boss. Closing the world off behind them. Leaving no one to know where they were or what they were doing.

Moments later a pair blood chilling screams was heard. The sound of what could be mistaken for a jet engine ignited and then quickly faded. All that was left was the sound of the ocean waves crashing along the sea wall as the sun slowly rose to begin a new day.

* * *

\- What is Slade's plan? How will Raven and Starfire's reunion go? Will Robin be able to find help to confront Slade or will he be forced to act alone? Who is that mysterious beauty Kori's boyfriend is having an affair with? How will Robin react to the news that Raven has returned to Earth? WHY DOES MY DOG KEEP BARKING AT THE TREE?! Stay tuned!

\- Any thoughts, comments, reviews are welcomed. Don't forget to follow and favorite for more updates.

\- As always guys, thanks for reading and I hope to see you in the next chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

\- This story takes place 7 years after the Titans disbanded. Robin and Starfire and Beast Boy are now 23, Raven is 22, and Cyborg is 25.

\- Any and all criticism, that isn't obnoxious, is welcome. As well as any suggestions for the story within reason.

\- _Italics_ are used for emphasis on words and thoughts

\- Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans

* * *

\- 3 -

… **Beast Boy …**

"Yeah it wasn't easy being a Teen Titan."

"Really? I always assumed being a superhero was a dream come true."

"It was for me. But every day we faced life or death situations and it takes its toll. I actually have a lot of white hairs growing and I'm not even 30 yet!" He said, hearing laughs from the audience.

"Okay Garfield." The interviewer said, flipping through his script for the next question. "What would you say, was the best part of being a part of the Teen Titans?"

Garfield was silent for a minute, deciding between hundreds of things that he loved about the Titans was never easy. "I'd have to go with the unity we shared. None of us really had a close knit family growing up and it felt like... Home, when you were there at the tower." An awe from the audience echoes throughout the studio of the morning interview show.

The interviewer smiled. "We're going to get a little deeper, is that okay?"

Garfield smiled, "sure." He said, expecting some stupid question about a villain they faced or something that always happened in his interviews.

"Why did the Titans throw down their masks and join society? What broke up your family?" There was a hush over the audience as the interviewer finished. Everyone held their breath waiting for Garfield to speak but he didn't. He couldn't. "Garfield?" The interviewer asked tapping Garfield on the shoulder, snapping him out of his trance. "Would you like a different question?"

"No." Garfield said. "It's just... Just hard to talk about."

"Take your time." The interviewer said, leaning back in his chair.

"Well if I had to say what the reason was... It had to of been our... Differences." He said faking a smile.

"What do you mean _differences_?"

Garfield frowned and sighed. "We wanted different things." He said plainly. "That's about all I can sum up."

The interviewer adjusted his collar and smiled. "Well, what about _Raven._ " The interviewer said. "Many believe you and she had a fling, care to elaborate?"

"We did." Garfield said coldly. He didn't want to trash talk Raven or go into such detail about her. He couldn't. It was too painful. "We went our separate paths before the titans split."

"So... You're saying you're a bachelor?" The interviewer said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood. The ladies in the audience oh'd at the question.

"I guess you could say that." Garfield said regaining some of his lost smile, trying to keep from turning red.

"Well from what I hear, the ladies love a green man with a sense of humor! Am I right ladies?" He asked, addressing the entire audience. Every female scream and laughed and winked and waved at Garfield which he gladly returned. After the crowd settled, the interviewer turned his attention back to Garfield and he smiled brightly. "I have one last question Garfield."

Garfield's mood had improved and he perked up when he heard the interviewer's voice. "Go ahead." He said with a smile.

"When and where are you going to do your first stand-up special?" The interviewer asked. The crowd cheered at the mention of it and settled down to hear his answer.

Garfield smiled. Having expected this question he cleared his throat. "Here in Jump City of course." He said with a smile, cheers from the audience roared to life again. He waited for them to calm down once more before he continued. "As for when... I'm not sure." The crowd awed.

"You've been reluctant to have your special huh?"

"Yeah, cause after my big debut it'll all become real. I think I'm more or less intimidated by the whole thing." Garfield said, showing a faint smile.

"Well let me tell you a secret." The interviewer said, leaning in close to Garfield. "You are going to be a hit!" He said, extending his arms towards the audience, regaining his former hype. The crowd cheered again, but the interviewer continued through their noise. "I guarantee that you'll be great and sell out your audience! You haven't even gone a world tour yet and you already have fans around the world! You're great at what you do Beast Boy... Or Beast Man I should say." The interviewer said with a sly smile. The lady's in the audience oh'd once more.

"Thank you, it means a lot that I have support from my fans."

The Interviewer smiled and extended his hand. "Thank you for coming on the show Garfield! We hope to have you on again the very minute after you finally do your special!"

"Great to be here." Garfield shook the interviewer's hand as they both stood up.

The interviewer held up Garfield's hand and waved to the crowd with his other. "Garfield Logan AKA Beast Boy everyone!" The crowd cheer as Garfield made his way back stage and towards his dressing room. Signing a few autographs along the way.

He opened the door to his dressing room and prepared to walk in when he felt a hand fall onto his shoulder. He turned to see his manager, Jacob, smiling at him. "Great job!" He said. "Here's your paycheck for the month." Jacob handed him an envelope.

"Did I get a raise?" Garfield asked smiling.

"65% of the total profit like our contract says." Jacob said. "This week is 7 grand."

Garfield's eyes went wide. "Holy hell!" He tore open the envelope to the see the check written out word for word. "No way! This is awesome!"

Jacob smiled. "You know..." He said. "I know you're not comfortable with it yet, but if you did that special at Wayne Theater you could easily double that check."

Garfield frowned and reached for the doorknob. "I'ma get changed and then Vic and I are going out tonight. I'll see you tomorrow." Jacob frowned at his client but nodded, understanding his fear towards the whole situation. Wasn't easy to make a life altering decision. He waved before closing the door behind him. Garfield closed his eyes and sighed as he leaned against the door. Today was incredibly stressful, one wrong word and he could be ridiculed on public television! Not a fun feeling.

"Rough day?" A cool voice called from his mirror on the other side of the room. "You've actually gotten funny. You used to say the stupidest things that would even make your own teammates want to hit you. I'm almost hurt you never mention me though."

"Slade!" Garfield said, readying himself for an attack from the villain but he didn't move. He leaned his hip against Garfield's makeup station, his side resonating in the mirror. His legs were crossed and his arms were folded out in front of him, showing no signed he was even going to flinch if Garfield chose to attack.

"Interesting… I thought for sure you would rush at me not at all thinking before you acted. At least that's what you _would've_ done in the past. Knowing very well you stood no chance." Slade said with a low chuckle.

"I've grown up." Garfield said, straightening his back but remaining defensive. He didn't trust Slade in the least. "I don't see you having done the same."

"Guess not." He sighed. "When Trigun had me banished to the Netherworld I had everything but my soul taken from me. I had no body, or really any life left."

"Seems like you found it." Garfield said sternly. "So how'd you do it?"

Slade held up a finger and wagged it at Garfield like an adult would a child doing something they weren't supposed to do. "Now now Beast Boy… It's not Storytime _yet_." Garfield grimaced at Slades words.

"Then why are you here?" Garfield asked, feeling sweat form at his brow and start it's decent down his cheek. He was scared of what the answer might be.

… **Robin …**

Richard laid on his couch in front of his TV, watching a show about 4 scientists and 3 female characters. One girl was a complete idiot when it came to understanding the scientists. One of the scientist was really intelligent but extremely arrogant and awkward in social situations. He chuckled here and there at the obvious jokes but found his mind wandering towards Starfire, the woman he had seen not even 2 hours ago. After his reunion with the alien princess he decided to call it a night. Not even 8 o'clock at night and Richard felt his body ache from stress. His only saving grace was that he didn't have to work tomorrow, but he'd be on call like always. Always ready to spring into an emergency situation if a cop was shot or there was a riot somewhere. 'Twas the life of a detective.

 _I should be out there looking for leads on Slade but… Where?_ He thought to himself. He wasn't concerned with Mikey anymore. The kid wasn't a real threat, probably just a cover so Slade could do his dirty work in the shadows.

Richard felt his phone vibrate in his pocket as he lazily took it out to see the Caller ID: Detective Nicholas Smith. Richard pushed the button and held the phone up to his ear. "Yellow?" He asked.

"Rich, where'd you go?" Smith called from the other end. He'd been at the bar for almost 2 hours but still hadn't shown any signs of intoxication. "I turn around and you were gone!"

"I got tired is all." He said plainly. "You were busy flirting with Beth so I just left."

Smith sighed on the other end. "Dude, what's wrong?"

"What?"

"You heard me." Smith said sternly. "Something is bugging you pretty bad. You usually at least _tell me_ when you're leaving."

Richard frowned. He didn't want to talk about it but knew Smith would never give up until he did. He felt his stomach grumble with displeasure as he held the phone closer to his ear. "Pick up some takeout and I'll tell you when you get here." He said with a smile.

"Can do." Smith hung up the phone while Richard laid back down on his couch.

 _This'll be fun_ , Richard thought. He waited until Smith showed up with a large bag and a smile on his face. Not even bothering to ask permission to come in, he walked straight to the kitchen.

"So what's up?" Smith said, putting the large brown bag on Richard's kitchen table. He pulled out several boxes of Chinese takeout, chicken and rice and noodle.

"You got a lot of food." Richard said, amazed at how it all fit in the bag.

"Don't change the subject." Smith said with a glare. Richard felt his sweat drop. "Bro, come one. You can tell me."

Richard grumbled. "I... Saw an old friend." He picked up their food and moved it to the table where they both sat down across from one another.

Smith took a large bit of food. "Continue." He said with a mouth full of food.

"It was Star." Richard said, looking down at his food.

"Your ex? The one that got away?" Smith asked swallowing. He's heard Richard speak her name before, mostly when they talked about old girls they dated or something little would bring her name up.

Richard hesitated. He'd pushed her away in reality. "Yeah." He took a bite of his food and leaned back in his chair.

"Damn. Did you talk to her?"

"I tried being friendly but she wanted nothing to do with me." Richard said. "She wouldn't even let me buy her a drink." He said with a chuckle.

"Why does she hate you so much? I mean, it doesn't make sense. Was the break up that bad?"

Richard sighed. "I didn't tell you everything." He said, watching as Smith gave him a confused look. "I'm the one... That broke up with her." He said.

"And you still care about her or something?"

"Yeah... A lot."

Smith smiled. "You know, you're the smartest idiot I've ever met. You can solve the hardest cases we get at the station but when it comes to people, you're a real idiot."

"Thanks for confidence boost."

"Listen, go she her tomorrow. Put your mind at ease and maybe you can move on." Smith said.

"I work tomorrow."

"Afterword dude. Go back to the bar after work."

"You don't know that she'll be there for sure."

Smith smiled and shook his head. "You really are clueless about girls. Of course she'll be there."

"How can you be so sure?"

Smith's expression remained pleasant. "Trust me dude. She'll be there."

Richard sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. No matter how his emotions tolled on the situation be needed to weigh his options. That was one of the many things he had been taught by Bruce. The ability to shut off emotion to think logically... At least in most cases. This skill hadn't saved him from breaking Kori's heart, but maybe it could help mend his own. He looked up at Smith who watched him intensely with a smile on his face. "Tomorrow huh?"

… **Raven …**

"Tomorrow?!" Kori cried. Rachel quickly covered her old friend's mouth and shushed her and to not disturb her roommates sleep in the next room. They sat on Rachel's bed and conversed quietly. Rachael removed her hand and sighed, thankful her roommate hadn't woken up. "Sorry." Kori said, hanging her head in shame. "It's just that that's so sudden. I want to see him and I know that I still care about him but..."

"You're seeing him tomorrow Kori." Rachel said firmly. Ever since they'd bumped in the street Kori and Rachel had spoken non-stop to catch up on their seven years apart. Kori told the tale of her up and coming life as a supermodel, her boyfriend Thomas, even about how she'd been offered movie roles and contracts that would only better her career. However, her efforts to avoid the topic of the boy wonder were in vain. "You shouldn't leave things unsettled between you two."

"What does it matter?" Kori asked. "It's not like we're even involved in each other's lives anymore."

"You'll regret it." Rachel said with a sad smile. "Trust me. Not a day goes by that I don't regret leaving the Titans. I left my family... Like I'd lost a piece of myself."

"Why did you leave?" Kori had been trying to avoid this topic but felt there was no better time. She'd reunited with her best friend so this should be a glorious occasion right?

Rachel let out a deep breath. "I felt... Out of place there. I'm literally the spawn of pure evil, I used to hate waking up in the morning because I was scared I'd hurt those closest to me. Every day I tried so hard to keep my emotions under control because I didn't want my father's hatred and cruelty to be inherited. I wanted everyone to be happy and so... I left."

Kori sat quietly and watched Rachel closely as she finished. "We would've done our best to keep you."

"I know."

"We cared about you so much Raven. It hurt us a lot. Beast Boy took the worst of it though."

"That's why I had to leave. I could never tell you guys that I was leaving because you would've convinced me to stay. I needed to go back home to better myself. I went back home to Azarath and finished my training. I learned to control my emotions completely."

"Why didn't you tell any of us you were back?"

Rachel chuckled shallowly to herself, her voice cracking as she fought back tears. "I actually tried believe it not." She said. "But by the time I got back you had all moved on with your lives. So I decided to move on with mine. I want to move on."

"What about Beast Boy? Do you wish to move on from him as well?" Kori asked solemnly.

"I don't think I could even if I wanted to."

Kori smiled. "Looks like I'm not the only one with unsettled issues." She said a smile.

"I guess so." Rachel said.

"Then how about we make a deal." Kori said with a bright smile.

"What kind of deal?"

"I'll see Robin if you see Beast Boy." Kori said plainly.

"I donno..." Rachel said.

Kori nudged Rachel with a smile. "Come on. Don't you want to have some naughty fun with him again?" She said with a laugh.

"You shouldn't talk." Rachel said with a smile. "You just want to fuck Robin."

"Well I wouldn't say no." Kori said with a blushing smile. "So is it a deal?" Kori asked, reaching out her hand that was met by Rachel's.

"Deal."

… **Starfire …**

"Hey babe." Thomas came to the door and smiled. Kori moved past him, ignoring him because she had had a bad day at the photo shoot today. She entered the kitchen to get something to eat because she could feel her stomach's protesting her unintentional fast all day long. The food was more or less for comfort and not hunger. Today was the day she was supposed to meet Richard at the bar. It was Friday... He had to be there. "Bad day?" Thomas asked, grabbing a water bottle from the refrigerator. Starfire looked in the pantry and found a large bag of chips.

"I have to meet everyone at the bar in a few hours." She said, lying through her teeth. "I got to eat while I can, otherwise those twigs will keep me from anything that is not healthy and disgusting." The sad thing was that this wasn't hard, lying to Thomas didn't bear any weight on her conscious.

Thomas chuckled. "I understand." He smiled sweetly at Kori. "So what time do you think you'll be home tonight?"

Kori ignored Thomas's attempt at being charming. "Not sure what time. Definitely more than 2 hours though. Maybe 3."

Thomas smiled. "Alright. I'll probably be asleep." He turned and walked back to the couch. Maybe I'll call her over tonight. Thomas thought with a curious smile.

Kori ate her chips and then headed to the master bathroom to get ready. She spent more than an hour in the shower. She washed her hair 3 times until it shined like flames and let it fall to her mid back, smoothed her skin so that it was like silk to the touch, polished and painted her nails a solid black to match her single strapped dress that came to her mid-thigh. She wore 3 inch solid black heels, a brand no one that wasn't a fashion icon could get, and she got it from a world famous designer as a gift for wearing their product to a fashion show in Los Angeles. She applied a careful amount of eyeshadow and mascara to make her forest green eyes captivating and mysterious. She blinked twice and smiled at her accomplishment. She felt her heart begin to race as she saw that she was to be at the bar in less than an hour. The thump in her chest caused her to take a deep breath and stare at her reflection. Her face was starting to grow red. "I need to calm down." She said aloud. Why am I so nervous? It's not like he's going to show up. He doesn't even go to bars! The fact that he was there last time was pure coincidence! Just coincidence...

"Damn, don't you look extra sexy tonight?" Thomas said, looking over his girlfriend with a perverted smile plastered on his face. "What's the occasion?"

"You know models." Kori said, faking a smile. "It has to be a hundred dollar dinner or no deal."

"I didn't think models ate at all." He said with a laugh. "You're the only one I've seen actually eat more than cigarette smoke."

Now that made Kori laugh, she'd had the same thought before as well. It was funny to see someone else notice it for a change. She got up from the mirror and looked at her boyfriend. She walked over and kissed him on the cheek. "Don't wait up." She grabbed her purse and left the apartment closing the door behind her.

Thomas sighed and fell onto the bed. He reached in his pocket and pulled out his cell phone to dial numbers on the keypad. He pressed the call button and sighed. He listened for the ringing to stop.

"Hey, you alone?" Came the voice on the other end of the call.

"Yeah." Thomas said with a half-smile. "You free?"

"I'll be over in 10." The gentle feminine voice called from the other end.

Thomas snickered seductively. "Hurry, I got a problem that needs your attention."

"See you soon daddy."

Thomas hung up. "At least this night will end on a good note." He said aloud, feeling the rush once again begin to pump its way through his veins and make its way to his heart to pound harder and harder. It was a thrill for him, the thrill of almost getting caught and the thrill is what kept him wanting more. The thrill of having a mistress.

… **Beast Boy …**

"I'm tellin' ya man! It was Slade!" Garfield scream to Vic and Jinx at their kitchen table. He'd gone over to his house like normal but he had to tell them what he saw. Slade had come to him not even an hour ago.

"Come on BB." Vic said with a disbelieving tone. "I'm telling you it was stress. You just got back from a nationwide tour and you're already on a talk show. You need sleep." He said looking towards his girlfriend for support.

"Maybe you just were hallucinating from fatigue Gar." Jinx said sweetly, obviously not believing Garfield. She didn't like the idea of her old boss coming back, she really didn't want to believe it. Garfield slumped in his chair. He mumbled something under his breath as he stared at the ground. Jinx suddenly felt sad for him so she decided to humor him. Maybe talking about how illogical the hallucination was, he'll realize that it wasn't real. "What did Slade say?" She asked curiously. Vic looked at her with a surprised expression. He didn't expect a question like that.

Garfield perked up, he'd forgotten to tell them. He looked at them both with a deathly serious expression. "He said that he's going to take control of Jump City." He took a breath. "This time for good."

Vic looked at Jinx. He wanted to believe his best friend but such a wild story was beyond his understanding. "What did he want?" He asked nervously.

"Us." Garfield said plainly.

"Why us? If he wanted to, he could've taken the city if he wanted to by catching us off guard. Why go to the trouble of seeing you?" Vic asked. Slowly but surely he was starting to believe him. Garfield may be a clown but he'd never say something like this unless he meant every word.

"I don't know. Doesn't make sense."

"Maybe he's just bragging that there's no way we can stop him at this point. But that still doesn't explain him saying he wants the Titans." Vic said aloud.

Jinx clear her throat and caused both boys to look at her. "I can explain, coming from an ex-villain." Both of them perked up. "It's simple. He wants a challenge."

Garfield and Vic looked at her in confusion. "What does that mean?" Vic asked.

"He could've taken the city at any time right?" They both nodded. "Well when someone like Slade, who doesn't care about money or power, gains influence they often don't use it."

"But why not?" Garfield blurted out, interrupting her mid-thought. Jinx gave him an annoyed look for having been interrupted. "Sorry."

"Anyway." She continued speaking with an annoyed tone. "When someone doesn't care about money or power or even fame, they're more dangerous than anyone else. They want nothing but chaos."

"Chaos for the sake of chaos." Vic stated. "He wants a game. He wants a threat that doesn't give him an absolute win."

Jinx nodded. "Exactly. I've met some insane villains in my life. The Joker, Brother Blood, The Brain, and others. But the worst thing that they had in common was they loved working for what they wanted. They wanted to prove that they were the best and that they had earned the right to bestow their will onto everyone."

Garfield looked off into space. "What's the point in playing a game you know you're going to win?" He looked at Vic.

Vic nodded. "There isn't one."

Garfield smiled. "Then let's give him what he wants. We need to get the team back together. Everyone's back in town, though we don't know where Robin and Raven are they're still in Jump City."

Vic frowned. "Who do we start with though?" They both looked at each other and smiled, both having the special powers of being best friends and knowing what the other was thinking. The most powerful and kindhearted Titan. "Starfire!" They said in unison.

"We can tell her tonight. I'll send her a text, she should be out doing stuff that models do." Vic sigh with a smiled. "I haven't seen her in ages."

"Neither have I." Garfield said with a sad smile.

"Robin will have to be last. No way would he even listen to us without proof." Vic said.

"Do you even know where he is?" Jinx asked.

"No idea but I know a certain Bat that can help us track him down when he's needed. For now we need to concentrate on the easier stuff first." Vic said.

Garfield sighed. "I can take care of Raven if you can manage to somehow convince Star."

"Easier said than done." Vic sighed. "You know how bad she's gotten. Only reason I have her number is in case of emergencies. Other than that, we haven't even spoken in months."

Jinx shivered. "She used to be so bubbly and nice… She was the first one to acknowledge the good in me. Makes me sad to see what she's become to be honest."

"It doesn't matter at this point. We need her." Garfield said solemnly. "Slade has something big in mind and we need every hero we can scramble."

Vic laughed. "Ex-heroes."

"Yeah but at least once more we need to be _real_ heroes again." Garfield said with a sad smile.

"Maaaan, and here I was getting comfy with a hot girlfriend and my own company about to launch my new tech." Vic leaned back in his chair. "Alright so, you know how you're gonna get Raven to listen?"

Garfield smiled. "I have an idea."

… **Raven …**

Rachel sat on the couch long ways while Hailey was in the kitchen making dinner for the both of them. "You sure you won't reconsider coming back home with me? I'd hate for you to spend Christmas alone again." She said, handing her her sandwich.

"I'm sure." Rachel said, taking a bite. She chewed for a few seconds then swallowed. "Besides, I'd like some alone time."

Hailey smiled. "Alright." She said. "I better not come back and see you all depressed though."

"You have my word." Rachel said with a smile. "What time do you have to be at work?"

"An hour." Hailey said. "Last shift for the next few weeks. Better leave them wanting more as I always say."

Rachel chuckled, knowing what she meant. "So slutty outfit to get guys to leave big tips?" Rachel asked with a smile.

"You know it!" Hailey said with a wide smile, taking a bite. "If you got the looks, use 'em." After they both finished their meal, Hailey got dressed and grabbed her car keys from her purse. "I'll see you in the morning before I leave for the airport." She waved back to Rachel who still laid lazily on the couch.

"That'd be nice." Rachel said quietly. She waved back to her as she left the apartment. She sat up and sighed with a deep breath. She looked at her phone. I need to call Gar. She thought to herself, remembering that she and Kori had a deal. They both do everything in their power to see the man they loved most, her to Richard and Rachel to Garfield. She contemplated waiting for later to call him. He's probably asleep right now, I'll call him tomorrow morning. He should be awake and up by then. Then almost on cue, her phone rang. She picked it up and found the number unrecognized, she questioned whether or not to answer but eventually gave into the pressure. "Hello?" She asked the other end.

The other end buzzed and crackled until it popped to sound like someone picked up the phone. The sound of a highway in the background screamed to life. "Raven?" Kori's voice called from the other end. "Is that you Raven?"

"Star?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, it's me." She sounded nervous, her voice cracked like she hadn't spoken all day and yet she seemed… Happy.

"What's up?"

"I'm calling to make sure you're doing what we agreed on. I'm heading to the bar to meet Robin right now. Have you called Beast Boy yet?" She sounded doubtful, like she already knew Rachel hadn't called him. Guess she knows her better than Rachel knew herself.

"I was just about to."

"Okay." Kori's voice sounded like she didn't believe her but still sounded cheery. "Let me know how it goes. Text me afterward. I'll let you know how it goes with Robin on my side."

Rachel took a shuddering breath, knowing that she'd have to call Gar sooner rather than later. "Alright. I'll text you. Good luck Starfire."

"Same to you." Kori hung up. It still made Rachel do a double take at how well her English has gotten. She sounded like a new person.

She looked at Beast Boy's number in her phone and wiggled her finger just millimeters above the call button. What am I so scared of? She asked herself. All I'm doing is asking him to get coffee and catch up like old friends… Which we are. She closed her eyes and tapped the button, hearing the phone start dialing she immediately felt her heart pick up and her forehead began to sweat.

The phone clicked. "Raven?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"It's great to hear from you."

Rachel's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?" She felt a warmth wash over her. Garfield actually wanted to talk to her.

"Yeah." He sounded happy. "I wanted to ask…." He paused, sounding like he took a breath on the other end to calm his nerves. He cleared his throat and sounded cheerful once again. "Are you were free tomorrow?"

Rachel smiled. This would be easier than she had thought. She wanted to spend time with Garfield, and now her chance. She could keep her promise to Kori while also restoring what little relationship they still had left to salvage. "Yeah, I'm free." She said shyly. "What did you have in mind?"

"Wanna go to the old tea shop off the coast? It's still in business."

That sounded so incredible. "Of- of course!" Rachel said, taking a deep breath to not sound desperate. "What time were you thinking?"

"How does 1 o'clock sound?"

Rachel felt ecstatic. "That sounds great. I'll see you then I guess."

"I'm looking forward to it." Garfield said through the other side of the phone. He breathed out, proving he had been holding his breath in anticipation. "So uh, I guess this is goodnight." He said nervously.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Rachel said. As the conversation went dead silent she felt her heart pick up. She was going to see Garfield tomorrow. She felt a coldness settle in where the warmth of Garfield's voice had once stayed. She was going to see Garfield tomorrow! What was she to do? What was she to wear? Oh God, when was the last time she'd had her hair done? Her mind raced and raced. What was a girl to do?

* * *

\- How will Garfield and Rachel's date go? Will Robin and Starfire be able to rekindle what little friendship they have left, let alone any romance? What is Slade's plan to take control of Jump City? How did Jinx and Cyborg start their star-crossed relationship between villain and hero? WHY IS HAILEY SO AWESOME? Stay Tuned!

\- This chapter was a little bit of a filler but I was able to introduce some concepts and what not so it wasn't a waste of time. Next chapter, everything will heat up and get exciting again with more drama and superhero action! Hope you guys enjoyed, don't forget to review for future updates!

\- Thanks for reading and as always, never freeze your water balloons before a water balloon fight. It doesn't end well.


	4. Chapter 4

\- This story takes place 7 years after the Titans disbanded. Robin and Starfire and Beast Boy are now 23, Raven is 22, and Cyborg is 25.

\- Any and all criticism, that isn't obnoxious, is welcome. As well as any suggestions for the story within reason.

\- _Italics_ are used for emphasis on words and thoughts

\- Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans.

* * *

\- 4 -

… **Robin …**

"I didn't know Lee and Jefferson were coming to the bar with us." Richard said, tapping his foot on the floor of Smith's patrol car. He'd drive there and when Smith got wasted Richard would drive him home and walk the 8 blocks home. He didn't mind it though, in fact it gave him a little time to breathe and think.

"Yeah, trust me bro. You need some wing-men if you wanna drive that girl crazy. They know the situation so they're gonna do their best to help you out."

Richard felt uneasy about the situation. "How is this supposed to help me mend the gap between us?" He asked hesitantly.

"If you make her jealous you'll know for sure just how much she cares about you. If she doesn't care, she won't be mad to see you with another girl. The 3 of us are gonna help you get a girl to be all over you."

Richard was skeptical at Smith's logic but chose to trust his friend. "Fine." He said.

"We're here." Richard could feel the thumping of the club in front of them. He saw the very girls that were there last time with Kori, but she was nowhere to be seen. The girls were all chain smoking and sipping on cocktails. Giggling in between puffs and sips.

"I don't see her." Richard said.

"Let's go inside then." Smith unbuckled and got out of the car.

"Wait!" Richard said, struggling at the sudden need to unbuckle his seatbelt and get out of the car. It took no time at all for the duo to get in the club, they were both dressed in a dress shirt and tie with black pants. They would looks like twins if Smith wasn't a foot taller and Richard didn't have spiky black hair. It was hard to see a little with sunglasses but Richard was used to it. It was too loud for them to hear each other so they both stuck to hand signs and gestures to communicate. He saw his fellow detectives sitting in the back at a rather large booth, flirting with one of the barkeeps. He tapped Smith on the shoulder and pointed towards them. "Let's go." He yelled over the music into Smith's ear.

Like magic, the music faded as they approached the booth, now the thump was all that stood between them and conversing.

Jefferson was a tall broad man with a fit physique and short light blonde hair with green eyes. Lee was an Asian of regular height with an athletic body and straight jet black hair that fell to his forehead with a pair of black eyes. "Bout time you lazy bastards." Jefferson said with a wide smile. Both he and Lee got up from the booth and shook their hands in greeting. "Hows probation?" He asked sarcastically.

"Sucks beyond belief because I can't pursue any cases." Richard said with a smile. "I now know what you go through every day." Richard said with a sarcastic smile. He poked fun at the fact that Jefferson had the lowest conviction rates at the station.

"Now now ladies." Lee said. "Save the dick swinging contest for _after_ we get Johnson here to pop his cherry." He said with a hearty laugh.

Richard laughed. "Shut the fuck up." Everyone piled into the booth, Richard sat on the end and scouted the dance floor and bar.

"So what's this chick look like?" Lee asked curiously.

"You'll know her when you see her." Richard said calmly.

"You're the only one that knows what she looks like." Johnson said. He sighed. "Oh well, our job is to get girls, not our problem."

Lee smiled. "Yeah." He pointed over to the bar. "We got 2 blondes at the bar. Let's go get em while they're hot."

Richard and Smith watched as the two guys walked up to the girls and, surprisingly, they were hitting it off. The girls were giggling and smiling at each other. Obviously interested in the men that were flirting with them.

A young waitress, around 23 with a low cut shirt and apron came to the booth and whipped out a notepad. "Hey guys, my name's Hailey." She said cheerfully. "Can I get you guys want anything to drink?" She looked at Richard and her smile seemed to grow.

"I'll have non-alcoholic beer." Richard said, trying his best to return the smile.

"Whiskey on ice for me." Smith said, noticing the waitress hadn't taken her eyes off of Richard. He looked over her and smiled. She was perfect. She was a cute girl and definitely not as slutty as the other chicks at the bar. She'd be a good initiator especially with how much she seemed to already have a thing for Richard.

"Alright, I'll have it out to you guys in a second." She said, smiling at Richard. "Anything else I can do for you?"

Before Richard could answer, Smith intervened. "You can give him your number." Smith said with a cocky smile.

Hailey looked at Smith and then back to Richard. "Buy me a drink and we'll see." She winked at him.

Richard smiled. He didn't want to lead this girl on but he had to play along if this plan was gonna work. "What's your favorite drink?"

"Martini." She said.

"Then I'll take one of those as well." He said with a confident smile. The girl winked and turned away, shaking her hips as she did so to make sure Richard watched as she did.

"Johnson." Smith said leaning over. "Dude look." He pointed to the far end of the club towards the entrance. Walking in were 4 incredibly beautiful woman. 2 blondes, a brunette, and one with dark auburn. They were too far away to make out their faces but Richard knew. He knew the flaming haired one was Starfire.

"That's her." Richard said. His jaw was on the floor, Kori looked incredible. It was like she was carved from pure divinity. Like an angel among mortals.

Smith had to do a double take. "Dude who exactly is your ex? I've only heard you call her Star."

"She changed her name after we broke up." Richard said with frown.

"What does he go by now?" Smith asked insistently. Was Richard really trying to say that he had dated a supermodel? And had been the one to break up with _her_?! Richard mumbled something Smith was unable to hear. "What?"

"Her name is Kori!" Richard said loudly.

Smith's jaw dropped. "Kori? Kori Anders? THE Kori Anders who is an international beauty icon?" Richard nodded. "The same Kori Anderson who is the only person to be voted Sexiest Woman Alive on several occasions? The same woman who anyone would give their left arm to be with?! THAT Kori Anders?!" Smith was starting to grow louder. He appalled and shocked and amazed all at once.

Richard nodded in embarrassment. "Yeah... That's her."

… **Starfire …**

Kori walked into the club and immediately started looking for Richard. Her search ended when she turned to find the source of a man's voice sounding like they were in shock. It was a rather fit man in his late twenties or maybe early thirties talking to another man who wore shades and had his hair spiked. It was too dark to tell but Kori was confident that that was Richard. It had to be, who else would wear black-out shades in an already dark night club?

Kori felt the urge to go over there and talk to him, making some harsh comment here or there, but she decided against it. Instead, she went up to the bar with the models she came in with and ordered a glass of premium whiskey. She nursed it while sneaking to occasional look toward Richard. Twenty minutes passed and Richard was joined by two other men who had 2 rather beautiful busty blondes around their arms. Almost immediately, the girls scooted next to Richard and because to rub on him. They touched his shoulder and were very obvious about their interest in him, though Richard blew them off to make glances as Kori. They giggled and tried getting his attention but their attempts were met with absent words she felt pride at this, no matter how attractive the girls were, Richard only had eyes for her... Wait. What she thinking? Why is she happy that he cares about her? She had a boyfriend! She came here tonight to bury the hatchet... That's it. She wants to put this matter behind her and forget about the Boy Wonder.

By this point, she really wasn't part of the conversation with her friends any more. She watched as the cocktail waitress, named _Hailey,_ had better luck than the other girls. Richard was actually interested in what she had to say. _Bitch._ Kori couldn't hold back that thought. The girl was dress casual yet wore a modest beauty and had a pretty face to boot. The waitress put a hand on Richards shoulder and kissed him on the cheek, making Richard blush bright red and very obviously. Kori gritted her teeth at the display. The girl held up a finger and walked away towards the back. Probably telling then she'd join them soon.

Kori felt a vein bulge in her head. This was beyond irritating. "That's it." Kori said to herself, downing the rest of her glass. She got up from her seat at the bar and walked over to Richard who sat chatting with his friends.

"And then he said…" Richard stopped his story and followed his friend's line of sight to his left. Kori hovered over Richard with a fake smile on her face that fooled everyone except him. He knew she was pissed, which made him smile. "Hey Kori." He said casually with a forced smile.

"Hi Rich." She said with her best smile. She felt pride at how his friend gawked at her, but a sour taste took its place when she noticed Richard was still cool. She had dressed to impress but didn't even get a gasp from him. Millions of people line up to see her and check her out yet Richard never broke eye contact until she asked a question. "Who are your friends?"

"Oh, umm, this is Detective Lee, Detective Jefferson…" Kori stopped listening after the first few names, she only had eyes for Richard. After introductions and handshakes she pulled up a chair, ordered a hurricane, and prepared to play the game. The game of who will blink first, a battle of wits to make the other flinch and lose concentration.

"So, how many men did you pull in today?"

"Actually, none, I was off duty today."

She cocked an eyebrow. "You actually took a day off?" She asked, snickering at the other Detective's laughter. "You've never taken any time off... not for anyone." She said in a darker tone.

"Every dog has his day." He said, taking a swig of his drink. "Not that a normal and innocent world famous model would know." He retorted.

"You have no idea what I know," she snapped.

"I know you well enough." He said in a calm tone.

"Oh, come on, Dick, I'm a big girl. I've seen the dark side of Jump City." The other Detectives raised an eyebrow at his real name but shrugged it off as more of their banter and a play on his name.

Suddenly the Detectives were interested. Their circle had gone quiet. Richards's eyebrows were pulled low. "Something you shouldn't be talking about in front of a Detective?"

"Just saying... Everybody loves a rebel."

"I don't." There he was again, the crime fighting man that she knew. "Either you follow the law or you don't. Either you're with me or against me."

"Oh, Dick." She leaned forward and sipped her hurricane. "That was always your problem. You never could see the gray." Richards's lips formed a tight line and the circle leaned in a little more. She leaned in close to his ear, "You never could see the people who just wanted to be with you," she whispered. It was out. She felt dirty and clean all at once. She wished she could see his eyes, because his face stayed blank.

"Maybe you should go, Kori," he muttered.

She chuckled and stood up and went to sit at the bar. She started to rejoin the conversation, pretending to have a good time as if her little confrontation had never occurred. In reality, her eyes stayed glued to Richard. The game wasn't over yet.

The Detectives, reeling from the exchange, attempted to draw Richard back into a normal conversation. The cute waitress came back wearing normal clothing and gave them more drinks. Immediately after she sat down she took a liking to Richard. From the start she had her eyes glued to him and was touching his shoulder more than she should.

Kori snorted and drowned the rest of her hurricane. Fucking little bitch.

After a few more minutes of fake texting, she snuck another peek over the top of her phone. This time, the waitress was openly flirting. She had sat down beside him and had one hand on the top of his thigh. And Richard was letting her. He had a sly smirk on his face.

And then she reached up for his glasses, to take them off and see his eyes. Kori absolutely froze.

She, Kori, had never seen Richards's eyes in twelve plus years of friendship – and this little skank was going to see his eyes within five minutes of meeting him? Fire exploded in her veins. Oh, _hell_ no. She thought to herself. Then, without thinking, she walked over and pushed that bitch with her full Tamaranian flew to the other side of the club, crashing loudly onto a couch that was housing a couple not too long ago. Thankfully she wasn't hurt to bad.

A few people screamed. Everyone whipped around. A hundred pairs of eyes stared at Kori, standing there with her fist still raised. Richards's mouth was actually hanging open. Before anything else stupid could happen, Kori grabbed his hand and sprinted out of the bar as fast as she could go. The game was over. And Kori had lost. They ran for ten minutes until they were in central Jump City, the casual and middle-class part of town. Her heart was racing, her chest heaving. She finally stopped and refused to look at him. They were stopped at a white picket fence beside a small house. Richard said nothing. Kori sat there, her chest heaving, electricity shooting through her veins. How could she be so stupid? She risked a glance at his face. That asshole had the biggest smile on his face she'd ever seen.

"Starfire –"

" _Shut up._ "

"You were jealous." She could hear the smile in his voice from a mile away.

She finally turned around and looked at him, and she knew she'd lost. He had the cocky grin on his face that she had first fallen in love with. He'd won. She'd showed him her trump card, and now she had nothing else to play.

"You were jealous of that waitress," he said. His voice was so suave.

"Fuck you," she spat.

"You _miss_ me."

"I hate you." She said, she felt her cheeks grow hot. "You ruined my life." She looked into his still shaded eyes. "My life went to total shit went you abandoned me!"

Richard felt a tug at his chest. "What about your boyfriend and high-rise on 18th street? Seems you're living a better life than me." He said.

"Richard, don't think for a second I won't punch you in the face! Don't patronize me!" The tone of her voice finally made him shut up. And then they were standing on a suburban street in the middle of the night, a single streetlamp lighting up their bodies. All of the tables had turned. Now it was Richard with the power, grinning down at her. And Kori was the victim, staring at him with the eyes of the sixteen-year-old alien she'd used to be. Once again, she was new on this planet. And just like before, it was this dark-haired man who knew all of the secrets. She couldn't stand the silence anymore and finally muttered, "That wasn't how it was supposed to go."

"What exactly did you come here planning to do?"

"I came because of Raven."

"Raven?" His voice changed to amazement. "She's back?"

… **Raven …**

Rachel sat uncomfortably at the table at the tea shop she was supposed to meet Garfield at. She wore black skinny jeans, a royal blue hoodie and converse Sneakers. She shifted in her seat with anticipation. Trying to distract herself with her surrounding, she looked over, the shop stood on a cliff that overlooked the horizon. Rachel, back when she was a Titan and wanted some alone time, would often go there to drink tea and read. The fabulous view of the sun sinking below the sea with the beach not even a stone's toss away was incredibly relaxing. The shop was owned by an older couple, now 7 years older than Rachel remembered both in their late 40's by now. The place was quiet most of the time, they weren't the most popular shop but they made more than enough in sales to get by.

When she got up this morning Hailey was nowhere to be seen. Usually Rachel could hear snoring from the next room but this time there was only silence. Rachel hadn't received any text messages or calls from her but she did send her a text hoping to hear back from her.

Where is he? She thought to herself. This is so typical of Beast boy, always fashionably late no matter what.

"Yo Rae!" She turned to see Garfield running up behind her. He was dressed in a dark purple buttoned up dress shirt that was buttoned up to right before the top button, tucked into his ash colored jeans that revealed a small silver BB insignia shined on his belt buckle. He wore black combat boots that seemed of high quality. Rachel couldn't help but smiled at how much he had changed over the years. "Sorry I'm late, had a meeting this morning with my producers about the big show coming up."

Rachel stood up when she saw him. "Hey." She said quietly. When Garfield stopped right in front of her and it suddenly became apparent of the changes that happened over the years. Garfield was now taller than her, his muscles had been toned and developed, no longer having his light peach fuzz scuffle but now had a recently shaven five o'clock shadow. He still sported the same short haircut like he always did, the sun darkened his green hair so that it no longer matched his skin. She couldn't help but smile at his growth. He was even more attractive than he was back then. They stood there quietly, awkward in fact, waiting for the other to say something but no one ever did. They just stared at each other until Beast Boy felt the need to speak.

"Hey yourself." Garfield said happily. His voice had gotten deeper Rachel thought. "Is that Jasmine?" He asked, gesturing towards the table. He pulled out the chair for her.

"Yeah." Rachel responded with a smile. She fell silent for a second. She sat in the chair and Garfield pushed her forward towards the table. "Do you…. Want some?" Garfield sat down in the chair across from her and smiled.

"Sure." He said.

Conversation to begin with ranged from non-existent to pleasant small talk. The atmosphere was light and for Rachel a small part of her believed that perhaps things would remain completely civil throughout. A considerably larger part, however, knew the truth. They were on borrowed time, the two of them. Whether it was visible or not there was a tension building. Unanswered questions and things that needed to be said still hung in the air.

Garfield sipped his tea and looked out into the sea. "I remember the last time we were here." He chuckled. "You were sitting there and reading, tuning out the rest of the world."

"Yeah, I also remember a certain green dork sitting down and bothering me while I tried to read." Rachel said with a smile.

"Hey, I wasn't that dorky." Garfield protested with a grin.

"Gar... You weren't always an accomplished comedian." They both laughed. However, as time passed it was obvious that the next topic of conversation wouldn't be so pleasant.

Garfield seemed to grow serious for a second though he kept the smile on his face. "So what made you want to come back?"

Rachel stared at the table in front of them. She gulped. "My father… His evil returned to Azarath."

Garfield jumped out of his seat, his eyes wide with surprise and fear. "Trigun's back?!" He did his best to keep from screaming his words.

"No… Not exactly. My father died after I finished him off when he tried to conquer Earth and we managed to stop him." Rachel's voice grew dark and emotionless, just like it had been they had first met. "The truth is, I didn't really plan on coming back here. But I didn't have a choice."

"What do you mean Rae? You're not making any sense."

Rachel sighed. "My father was a Demi-God."

"Kinda figured that from all the magic and worship when he took over the first time." Beast Boy interjected.

"Yeah well, with being a Demi-God comes lots of followers who enact the teachings of said God." Raven felt pain in her chest. "They took it Gar." She felt her voice grow weak. "They took my home. They invaded Azarath and burned it to the ground... They said it was revenge for his death."

"Oh God Raven..." Garfield got up from his chair and knelt down next to Rachel. "I'm so sorry." He began to reach his hands around her frame but hesitated. Was this really okay? Instead, Rachel grabbed his hands and placed them around her in an embrace.

"They're gonna come for me Gar." Her voice sounded harsh. "They're gonna find me and get their revenge."

"That won't happen Rae. I won't let them hurt you."

"They don't want to hurt me... They can't hurt me if they want what I think they want." Rachel tightened her grip on Garfields arms.

"What do they want?"

"They want to resurrect Trigun."

"What?!" Garfield waved his hands in front of him. "No no no no no… That's not good."

Rachel sat uncomfortably in her chair. "But they can't do that without my help. I'm the last living offspring of Trigun. Everyone else is either dead or missing."

Garfield looked at Rachel, finally grasping the situation to its fullest. "That means they're gonna come after you." Rachel nodded, feeling her eyes burn. She felt like crying but tears wouldn't come. "Well we can't let that happen now can we?"

Rachel looked at Garfield in surprise. "What?"

"We just got you back Rae." He said with a smile. "There's no way in Hell we're gonna let you go again."

Rachel smiled, feeling her heart tingle and a warmness growing inside her. She was back home.

… **Cyborg …**

"Hey Babe, where's my address book?" Cyborg called from his office.

"Did you check your desk?" Jinx was in the kitchen making lunch for the both of them. "Might be in the drawer."

Vic walked over to the desk and found it right on top. He laughed to himself, of course Jinx was right. "Found it!"

Jinx turned from the counter and watched as Vic came into the room. "Told you." She reached out and handed him the plate.

"Yeah yeah, I don't even know why I question you anymore." Vic said, setting the plate down at the table. Jinx set down her plate in front of the seat next to him and smiled as he pulled out the chair for her.

"I know right? You think you'd learn by now." She laughed.

"Learned what?" Vic asked with a joking tone.

Jinx placed her elbow on the table and put her hand under chin. She grinned revealing her pearly white teeth that matched her porcelain skin. "I'm always right, dah." She said.

Vic laughed. "Yes ma'am."

Jinx eyebrows raised. "Hm, I like the sound of that."

Vic took a bite of his sandwich. "Just shut up and eat." He said with a smile.

"As you wish." She took a bite, chewed, then swallowed. "So why'd you want the address book?"

"When Robin and Star split, I took the liberty of taking down her address. Robin dropped off the map, all I know is he's a detective for Jump City. Other than that, the guy could die and I'd never know if I didn't watch the news." He frowned. "But if Slade really is back, we need to get ahold of Starfire."

"Are you gonna go there or something?" Jinx asked.

"I'm gonna try and meet her somewhere. Gonna be an off conversation after not speaking to each for a few years. Last I saw her she doing a photo shoot for some designer close to my office."

"I have a feeling this whole situation is only gonna get worse if we antagonize it any further."

"Well I guess that's what makes life interesting." Vic said with a smile.

"I guess so." Jinx said with a smile. "What about Robin and Raven?"

"BB will take care of Raven. Unfortunately I have no idea about Robin. Not only would it be a pain to get in touch with the guy but there's the possibility he'll call us insane for asking him to help against a villain that may or may not be still alive." He sighed. "Frankly, I wouldn't blame him. The only proof I have is what I've heard from Beast Boy. I certainly wouldn't even consider the situation if it had been anyone else. Anyone else besides Beast Boy and I probably wouldn't have believed them."

Jinx nodded. "I probably wouldn't either. Gar might be a comedian, literally, but even he wouldn't joke about something like this."

"You know the thing that bothers me most?" Vic asked.

"Hm?"

"It's the coincidence of all this." He said, finishing his sandwich. "Think about it. One minute, we hear about Raven coming back and the next Slade's back. This can't just be coincidence. They have to be connected somehow."

"But Slade hasn't gone after Raven like he did when he was first resurrected. Gar said she'd been here for years attending college. So why is he just now showing up?"

"That's the question." Vic grabbed Jinx's plate and got up from the table. "I'll wash the dishes then I'll call Star."

"That'll work, I'll go online and check the office for you. When do you want me to tell them you want that update on the trans-gravitational roadway system?"

"Tell them I want it on my desk on Monday. That should give them enough time to type and iron it out. Also, tell them to include a full report of their progress with the gravitational pull and push problem."

"Aye aye captain." Jinx did a two finger salute and walked off to the office.

Vic couldn't keep a smile off his face. I sure hope that things won't get too hectic. I actually like this calm life. Being a hero was fun and all but I find that a simple life with the girl I love and my best friend just a phone call away, what more could a guy ask for? Once again Vic had images of diamonds in his mind. The girl in the next room was his everything, he wanted to finally make her his but no time every felt right. No ring was ever perfect. And something… Something always caused a tightness in his chest. He always brushed it off but it felt real, like he was really and genuinely scared.

Vic stared at the phone in his hand, pacing back and forth in the living room. The number was dialed and all he had to do was press the green call button. He was nervous, it had been too long since he'd spoken to Kori that he had no idea what to say. His mind ran scenarios in his mind: "Yo Star, long time no see. Look I know we haven't really spoken at all since we split but I need your help. You know that arch enemy we used to have? Yeah… He's back." He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, pressing the button as he finished. He nervously placed the phone to his ear and felt his heartbeat as it rang in his ear. This is stupid… She's a famous model! She probably doesn't have time for-

He heard the other side of the line click and rustle around. "Hello?"

… **Azarath …**

"Where is she?!" A man in dark red robes slammed his fist down onto the table, shaking the kneeling man in robes the color of blood.

"I don't know my Lord. Her energy just vanished!" The shaking man avoided eye contact for the fear he might be killed grew inside him.

"I don't have to tell how important it is we get her back! We can't proceed without her!" The man in dark red pinched his brow. He saw the man shaking nervously and immediately felt his blood boil at how timid and weak he looked. _This weak man served the great and powerful Trigun?_ "Where was she last seen?"

"We were keeping track of her energy on Earth like you requested my Lord, but it appears that something is interfering with out sensors. It's showing Master Trigun's energy signature but that shouldn't be possible because our master's energy vanished after his... Passing." He said hesitantly. "We suspect it to be just cosmic interference but we can't be certain until we know more."

"I don't care what you have to do!" He threw his hands in the air. "Don't just stand there! Find her before I punish you!"

"Ye-Yes my Lord!" The man bowed and ran out of the room, almost tripping as he did so.

The man sat on a chair behind his desk and sighed. Years of planning just went up in smoke. We were so close to finding her! Damn it! He slammed his fist back onto the desk. Don't worry Master, we'll bring you back! I swear it! The man heard footsteps coming down the hallway. Why is he already returning? Unless he has her energy signature I don't want to hear it! "What is it? Have you found her yet?!"

Another man in dark robes came and kneeled before the still fuming man. "I'm sorry my lord but we have yet to find her." He felt his sweat drop as he felt the negative energy seep from the man in front of him. He needed to get to the point before the lord had him executed for wasting his time. "However." He said before the man could interject. "We found out what is blocking our senses my lord." He paused, as if asking permission to continue.

The man in dark red robes felt a vein begin to form in his forehead. "Speak before I lose what little patience I have left!" He balled his fist. These insolent servants were more irritating than they were intelligent.

"We discovered it to be Slade Wilson my lord! The original messenger of Master Trigun!" He spoke with an uneasy and rushed tone. "We believe he somehow survived after our Master's fall. It is the only explanation as to why our sensors are being tangled."

The man in dark red robes sat behind his desk and folded his hands together. He placed his elbows on the table and brought his hands up in front of his mouth, under his nose. He looked at the man and narrowed his eyes. "Continue." He commanded.

"If it truly is the one they call 'Slade', then Master Trigun's energy radiating from him would most likely mix with the girl's energy. Thus explaining like the energy is coming from more than one location. I believe if we can somehow find the difference between the energy signatures we can locate the girl." The man continued to look down at the ground. Hoping his explanation was adequate enough to lessen his chance of punishment.

"Tell the other's all I care about is finding that girl! I don't care how it is done! Just do it!"

The man jumped up from his kneeling position and bowed immediately. "Yes my lord!" He then quickly ran out the door and down the hall towards the sensory room where psychics worked tirelessly to find Trigun's daughter. The last living embodiment of his pure, and untainted energy.

The man in dark red robes frowned at the thought of Slade's return. Even if it were true, we couldn't use the energy inside him anyway. His mortal soul has twisted and defiled Master Trigun's energy, he couldn't be revived by such filthy means. He sighed. But perhaps we might be able to use him to our advantage.

* * *

\- What will the Titan's do once they reunite? How will the rest of Beast Boy and Raven's date go? Will Starfire learn of Thomas's adulterous ways? When will Slade make his move on the city? WHEN WILL MY PIZZA GET HERE?! Stay tuned!

\- Don't forget to comment, review, and follow!

\- Hope you guys like this and remember, don't drink the Kool-Aid!


	5. Chapter 5

\- Any and all criticism, that isn't obnoxious, is welcome. As well as any suggestions for the story within reason.

\- _Italics_ are used for emphasis on words and thoughts

\- Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans.

\- 5 –

 **(The day after the club incident)**

… **Garfield …**

Garfield laughed aloud as the topic of conversation grew lighter than before. Garfield could no longer contain himself as he told stories of behind the scenes Hollywood, from interviews, celebrities, to even times he guest stared on a television show. "Yeah you wouldn't believe how awesome Johnny Depp is. He was in Hollywood just eating some pizza and we just started talking. Dude has a twisted sense of humor." Garfield smiled. "He told me he was actually a fan!"

"That's amazing! I've always loved his movies." Raven smiled.

"Me too." Garfield smiled. "He gave me his cell number and told me to contact him when I was in town again." Raven laughed again and smiled at Garfield. Garfield couldn't contain his curiosity anymore. "Wow, Raven. I'll never stop being amazed by your laughter."

Raven's face grew red and she lowered her head. "Stop saying weird things."

"So your time in Azarath let you get control of your emotions then huh?"

"Yeah." Raven said with a small smile. "When I was a titan, I wasn't able to express emotion because I was at constant fear of my father's power surfacing and taking control of me. That's why I had to always meditate and control my emotions. But now that I have my father's power inside me under complete control, I've learned to express emotion." She smiled. "Still feels weird to smile and laugh without a worry."

"It's amazing to see you so happy Raven." Garfield smiled and looked at Raven who blushed. Realizing he was making her uncomfortable he laughed. "It's just… I'm happy to have you back Raven." He said with a smile. Raven returned the smile and the blush continued. Garfield was about to reach out for Raven's hand when his pocket started to vibrate.

He grew embarrassed, "I'm sorry Raven, I thought I turned my phone off." He reached in his pocket and saw it was Cyborg calling him. "But this might be a good thing. Look who's calling!" He held up his phone to let Raven see the name Victor Stone shaking. She gasped and told him to answer it.

Garfield pressed the button and smiled. "Hey Cy, what's up?"

"I found something on Slade dude! There's been a massive import of Carbon Steel, hydrogen sulfate, magnesium, unprocessed oil, and even glass. Sounds like the perfect ingredients for a bomb. A big one at that. With all this, it's enough to blow up the entire city." Vic said sternly.

"Or hold it for ransom. Slade's the type of guy to only destroy the city if he has to. He's gonna bleed the city dry beforehand if he can." He looked over to Raven who now had a serious expression. "I'll head over there now and we can figure out a plan. And we'll have help too, Raven's coming along."

"Good, we'll need all the help we can get. See ya when you get here B." Vic said before hanging up.

"Alright Raven." He said putting his phone back into his pocket and looking at her with a smile. "You ready to get back in the action?"

"If it means putting Slade in the ground where he belongs, I'm all in." She said.

"Let's go." He said as they both got up from the table and headed through the shop and out the front entrance. "We'll take my car." He pressed a button on his car key and a solid black Audi R8 convertible came rolling up to the curb of the tea shop, by itself! "First thing I bought myself when I started touring. Cyborg suited it up with some upgrades so now I can call it from over 10 miles away and it'll come and get me by itself. Among other things." He said as he escorted her to the passenger door. He opened it and waved his hand, "after you." He smiled as Raven got in with a mix of blush and smile on her face. She was truly speechless. Garfield jogged around the car and got behind the wheel, putting the car in drive and heading to Cyborgs condo.

 **... Kori …**

Kori laced her fingers through her hair as she made her way down the street. She had spent the last 8 hours in downtown taking pictures for some new clothing line. It was exhausting, she needed time to clear her head. Instead of taking the usual limo or security she decided to walk the 2 miles home. She questioned every choice she made throughout the night before. From going to the club, to exchanging words with Richard, to getting jealous and hitting the waitress. It had been an entire day since that incident but she couldn't stop her mind from finding its way back to those thoughts. _What is wrong with me?!_ She thought, taking a fist full of hair from her shoulder and combing it with her fingers. She thought about her accidental slip about Raven's reappearance in Jump City. I _shouldn't have told Richard… Raven's going to be pissed he knows. But Richard didn't seem that interested in the matter, only shocked that she returned._

Kori turned the corner of Main Street, passing through the slums of Jump City was the only way for her to get home by foot. She so desperately wished she could fly but her saddened spirit continued to weight her down like lead. Any happy thought she could fathom to attempt to fly seemed miniscule in comparison.

 _I really need a drink._ She thought to herself, crossing the street onto Wayne Road. She could see her Condo from where she walked but knew it was still about 20 minutes away. She heard a whistle from a couple of would be thugs obviously checking her out as she walked past them. The both stood outside a smoke shop next to an ally. She no longer felt embarrassed by these kinds of actions from Earthlings. _It's like every other male on this planet is a total pervert._ She thought of Vic and Garfield. The only guys she'd known not to hit on her every chance they got. She couldn't count Richard because they had dated at one point and of course he would always flirt with her.

One of the thugs called out to her when she passed. "Hey Babe!" He said running up to her as she continued to walk. His buddy soon caught up. "You want to come have a good time with us?" He snickered to his buddy.

"Yeah come hang with us honey. We'll show you a good time." He agreed with a snarky attitude. Like he believed he actually could.

Kori didn't even look at them as she continued walking. She knew what they were getting at and she hoped that they wouldn't touch her. She wasn't in the mood to deal with them and so she was scared she might hurt them worse than she would mean to.

"Hey, you listening baby?" The first one asked.

 _Just don't touch me._ Kori thought.

"Listen to us when we're talking to you!" The second one said, beginning to reach out.

 _Just don't touch me._ Kori thought, expecting a hand on her shoulder any second.

Instead, the first thug placed his hands over the second one. "Forget this bitch." He said. "I got better shit to do than chase your flat ass around town." They both turned and walked back the way they came.

Kori balled her fist as she tried her best to ignore them and continue walking. Now coming to the end of the street she noticed a figure in the alleyway as she passed it. It motioned to her but she chose to keep walking.

"Oh Kori." Kori's body stopped dead in its tracks. That voice, the way it called her name sounded eerily familiar to someone who should be long dead. How could she not recognize it? That voice had been the source of so much pain and evil... Why was it here?

"Slade." She said calmly. Keeping her back to the alleyway.

Out from the shadows Kori heard the sound of combat boots clicking on concrete as they made their way out from the alley. "It's been a long time. How's modeling treating you? How about your boyfriend? Thomas, I believe his name is."

Kori turned and drowned at Slade's appearance. His suit was still the same, his mask. His voice, his posture. In a way it was almost disappointing. So much time had passed, you would think the man would at least change outfits once in a while. Everything except his movements. He seemed slower, but more careful with every muscle. Older even. Every step, every hand gesture, was used for a purpose. "What brings you back to town?" Kori asked, faking the best curious voice she could. She knew Slade wasn't here to attack. If he was he wouldn't have gone through the trouble of revealing himself.

"Oh well I missed the old sites." He said walking towards the building that created the very alley he surfaced from. He placed and hand on the wall and caressed the brick. "I mean the architecture in this city is just superb. Have you seen the Teen Titan statue in central park? The detail is so on par, they even got the scar I gave Richard back when he was my apprentice."

Kori felt herself smile at the obvious sarcasm. "Brings back memories doesn't it?" She knew his game. Charming talk, some stupid banter to lower her guard then he would take the moment to attack her while she wasn't paying attention.

"Yes. Some great and others of a less… Favorable time." He said.

"I'm sure you didn't come back to reminisce about an old building. What do you want Slade? Everyone thought you were dead."

"Oh I'm dead." He said with an amused tone. "Just not in the traditional sense." He turned to Kori. "Amazing. You sound nothing like that babbling alien from years ago."

Kori didn't acknowledge the compliment. She knew he was just biding time. "Why did you show yourself? Wouldn't it have been easier to attack me when I wasn't paying attention?"

"Yes I would… But I'm afraid my goal here isn't to kill you Kori… At least not yet." He said.

"Then why are you here?"

"Just thought I'll just stop by and say hi."

"Well you've done that. Now what else do you want?"

"The years sure have done a number on your personality my dear Starfire."

"Don't call me that. I left that name behind me a long time ago."

Slade chuckled. "Well that's exactly why I'm here. To _remind_ you who you are. The other Titans along with yourself have grown too attached to these… _Civilian_ lives. It's revolting. A disgrace to everyone who ever called themselves heroes or villains! We don't get to retire. There will always be crime and there will always be those who try and stop it."

"How exactly do you plan to remind us?" Kori asked skeptically. "Bring us together to fight you thus making us remember what it is to be a team? Don't make me laugh Slade! This isn't some Romantic Comedy! When people stop caring for one another there is no going back, only forward to a better future."

"Well that has to be seen Kori." Slade said with enjoyment. "Believe me. It's amazing what even the bitterest of enemies will do when faced with a common threat. It's as the saying goes: The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"Why go through all the trouble of reuniting us? Wouldn't it be easier to kill us off while we were " _Civilians"_ , as you like to say?"

"Easier, yes. That was the original plan. I could've killed you all at any time but there was a surprise player that was in hiding until now."

Kori's eyes went wide. "Raven." Slade's only answer was a chuckle, low and maniacal. "What do you want with her?!" Kori scream, stepping towards Slade.

"There's that alien battle spirit." He was getting off on Kori's reaction. He wanted to make her mad. Suddenly Slade pulled several grey pellets from his pouch and slammed them to the ground, releasing smoke into the air. "You'll see me again soon Kori. For now go home to your boyfriend. I'm sure he's _dying_ to see you." The even laughter return but then quickly faded.

"Thomas?!" Kori bolted as fast as she could towards her condo. _What did he do to Thomas?_ Kori reached the front entrance of the building in record time and quickly made her way to the staircase and quickly ascended, jumping case by case until finally reaching her floor. She ran through her front door, ignoring the fact that it was unlocked. Her heart beat out of her chest and she ran past the living room towards the bedroom "Thomas!"

Kori swung open the door to find Thomas and a pretty blonde lying in bed together… Naked. They both sat up and went wide eyed. The girl quickly covered herself but Thomas didn't dare move. "H-Hey Kori… Wasn't expecting you home so early…" He rubbed the back of his head and faked an innocent smile.

Kori didn't know how to feel. She should be angry, she should be shocked, she should be hysterical but she wasn't. She felt… empty. The girl stumbled from the bed and quickly grabbed her things from the floor and rushed out of the room, not even taking the time to get dressed. She brushed Kori's shoulder as she left but Kori was unfazed.

"Kori?" Thomas got up from the bed, exposing himself completely to her. "You okay?" He reached for her. "Babe?" He grabbed her hand but Kori pulled away. She balled her fist.

"How long exactly…. Has this been going on?" Kori asked through her teeth.

"Ummmm." Thomas hesitated.

Kori grabbed Thomas by his shoulders and planted him against the wall. "How… long?!" Her tone now filled with rage.

"Kori... How? When did you get this strong?!" Kori didn't respond. She pressed him harder against the wall, wanting the truth. Thomas let out a screech filled with pain. He tried reaching for her but found that anything other than her arm was out of his reach. "Let go of me you stupid bitch!"

Kori pulled herself away from him, again feeling the empty feeling inside her grow. "You have until tomorrow morning to move all your stuff out." She said turning her back to him. I'll be back then, anything you leave will be thrown away. Also, if you even think of taking any of _my_ things, I will find my stuff… And make your regret ever laying eyes on me." With that. Kori turned and walked out of her condo. She should've just kicked him out… Not even given him time to pack and burned all of his things. She should've done a lot of things that night… but she refused to stay in that apartment any longer. The stench alone made her eyes water, she felt like crying but couldn't force the tears. Instead they swelled in her eyes but refused to fall.

She knew where she needed to go for the night. She just hoped he was where she thought he would be. He was a workaholic after all.

… **Richard …**

Richard sat in the locker room bench of the police station almost fully nude if not for a towel around his waist, just finishing his workout he nursed a bottle of water. This became a regular thing, after his shifts he'd hit the police gym and then take a shower, get some crappy take out on the way home, then look over case files until sleeping for not even 6 hours where his morning routine. The only exception was when he actually he actually found something he could follow up on. Ever since Slade reared his head back into the city, Mikey hadn't shown his face. Richard could only assume it's probably just the beta wolf cowering in front of the alpha. No one was brave enough to challenge Slade's rule.

The other cops often left Richard to himself when he entered the gym. They were more or less freaked by his intense workout regimen. Hand standing push-ups, one finger pull-ups on every finger, a 5 miles sprint on the maximum speed on the treadmill then an endurance run for 45 minutes straight at a jogging pace, placing every weight he could find on the bench press and lifting it with little to no effort a few hundred times. He was a freak in their eyes when it came to these sorts of things, but he didn't care. He had a level of fitness he idolized and he refused to settle for any less.

Richard downed the rest of his water and stood up and walked over to the shower. He ripped off his towel and draped it over the shower door before stepping inside. He turned the faucet and waited for the water to warm. _The city has never been this quiet. The most that's happened today was some loser tried mugging a girl on the streets. Slade's done a better job at stopping crime than the police have._ Richard lowered his head under the water. _Though… Knowing Slade. He's probably put all the criminals to work for an even worse scheme._

Richard finished his shower and lazily got dressed. He yawned as he dried his hair and threw his towel in the bin at the entrance to the locker room. He just needed to get his things from his desk and he'd be ready for another night of cheap pizza and looking for a lead on Slade. Maybe he might actually watch a movie for once? Who knows? Without someone to question or a lead to follow, there was nothing to do. Cinderblock and Plasmas were still locked away in maximum security. No one, at least to Richard's knowledge, had any connection to Slade. Even worse, as a cop he can't go beating the answers out of criminals. He had to rely on his own investigation skills.

"Hey Johnson!" Smith came around the corner of his cubicle and smiled at him widely. "You got a surprise up front."

"What?" Richard looked up from behind his desk. "I'm off duty so it shouldn't be someone I know. If it's another guy trying to sell something or whatever just tell them to go away." He said sweeping his car keys off his desk and bouncing them in his hand. "I swear, you buy one coffee mug that says, 'I Love Jump City', and suddenly they think you'll buy anything."

"You got to admit, asking you to subscribe to "Big Booty Magazine" was pretty funny." They both chuckled.

"Just tell them I'm not interested."

Smith's face turned serious for a second. "It's Kori." He said with a frown. "She looks like she'd been crying." He gestured towards the front entrance and Richard followed his gaze.

Richard looked in shock as he saw the beautiful figure playing with her hair, standing awkwardly in the middle of the front entrances large double doors. Wearing tight jeans and a t-shirt with bright green eyes that looked swollen from tears.

"Are you okay?" He asked immediately.

She shook her head, trying to contain herself. "Can I stay with you for the night?"

"Of course," he said, grabbing his coat and turning to the receptionist in the window. "Linda, tell the chief I'm taking one of my vacation days tomorrow, okay? It's slow around here anyway, you guys won't miss me."

"Uh, sure, Detective."

He didn't even wait to hear what she said, but grabbed Kori's hand and walked out to the parking lot. As they were walking towards his patrol car, Kori kept sniffing loudly.

"What happened? Trouble in paradise?"

Kori scoffed at his annoying comment. Like he was one to judge her? Please. But she held her tongue and all that. "Richard, you're not saving me," she said, stopping him in his tracks. He looked at her with a confused expression. "I need you to know that. I just need somewhere out of my house tonight and you're the best that I've got right now, okay? Can you please not get overprotective?"

"Hard for me to do when you run to me crying at work."

"Everything is fine Richard. I'm fine. It's just…"

"What?"

"You're gonna think I'm crazy." Kori sighed.

"Try me."

"Slade… He's back." Kori mumbled and looked at Richard who remained emotionless. "Well?" She asked. "Isn't that insane? I met him on my way home from the photo shoot and we… Talked…" Kori felt the words leave her mouth but even she didn't believe it. "He didn't even try to attack me. More like he wanted to piss me off or antagonize me." She saw Richard continue to stare off into the distance. "Say something you ass!" She pushed his arm but her strength still wasn't there.

Richard took a step back and sighed. "I know." He said in a bitter tone.

Kori narrowed her eyes. "You know?" She took a step forward and balled her fist. "You knew and you said nothing? Are you insane?!" She took a swing at Richard but he easily side stepped and watched as Kori stumbled and nearly fell. She adjusted her cloths and sighed, keeping her back turned to him. She knew she couldn't win.

"You're not as fast or as strong as you used to be Kori." Richard said with a frown. "You're practically a human with extraordinary potential."

Kori balled up her fist once more and lunged at Richard once again with a loud and angry battle cry. She raised her right hand and swung her entire body at him but she missed and hit nothing but air. She switched her stance and started to swing at Richard, left and right, trying to move closer and closer. "You know nothing of the things I had to do just to survive this God forsaken world! I gave up the crown of Tameran because of you! All of you!" Her grunts and angry swings were sporadic and unorganized, like she no longer fought like a warrior but instead like a brute who had never known discipline. "I chose you over everything! My home! My family! My friends!" She yelled and tried to kick him in the groin but he elegantly dodged and continued to side step her attacks. She went for a left uppercut but found herself tripping over her own two feet, inevitably falling onto her knees and hands. She felt the loose asphalt dig into her palms and salty tears struck like thunder. "You… Left me… Left me to fend for myself in a world I knew nothing about. I had to… I sold my soul to an agency that thrived on torturing young girls. It was another 3 months after you left that I got a decent paycheck from modeling. 3 months of constant fear and neglect. I went _days_ without a single thing to eat or drink. It was Cyborg that saved me. He and Jinx let me stay with them for that time I was trying my hardest to get on my feet again." She stood up and brushed herself off and felt the stinging pain in her palms where she was on the ground. She looked over to Richard who stood emotionless, not even breathing heavy or sweating after their ordeal. She really had grown weak. What Tameranian couldn't control energy or use their full strength or even fly? Infant Tameranian's could fly when they were only a month old! She felt every emotion necessary to do everything and yet… All her training and all those years mastering her powers to have them just fade away. "Can we please go to your house? I need to get some sleep."

"Sure, Star." He led her over to his car and opened the door for her to get in. "Anything you want." They drove off into the night, leaving the dim lights of the police station behind them.

On the drive over, Richard watched as Kori once again made herself presentable. She wiped the tears out from her eyes, practiced smiling in the car mirror, fluffed out her hair, and completely ignored Richard. He wondered what she was trying to do. "What happened with Thomas?" Richard asked, not really expecting a full answer.

"I caught him in bed with another girl… MY bed!" She cried aloud. She sniffed, averting her eyes, and said, "I need to know, Richard." She turned to him with those superhero eyes. "Do you still love me?"

Richard stayed silent for a moment. He expected the question but he didn't anticipate Kori's newfound forward personality. "I never stopped." He said plainly, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Then why did you leave Richard?" Kori looked towards Richard with pleading eyes. "Why would you leave me when we were so happy?"

The million dollar question. He would have given anything to punch his sixteen-year-old self in the face right now. "Kori, it's hard to put into words –"

"Well, try! That hurt me, Richard! You knew how I felt about you, and all you could say, after the years we were together, was that you weren't interested anymore? Did the kiss we shared in Tokyo not mean anything to you?" Her voice was breaking.

Richard sighed. "I was scared okay?" He hit the steering wheel. His tone was steady and passionate but his eyes remained on the road. In his own way, he avoided her gaze so he could continue to convey his feelings without a second thought. "You were my weakness Star. Even after all the villains and enemies I faced, no one scared me as much as you did. Without you, I thought my world would crumble. I wouldn't know who I was without you by my side every single day. I never felt so dependent on someone before, not even my teacher. I remember thinking to myself that I would kill for you, if it meant saving you. Going against everything I believe and was taught. Even now, I would kill for you Kori, if it came to it." He paused. "Maybe it was too soon for us to move in together. We weren't ready." He clinched the steering wheel tighter. "I wasn't ready." He said quietly. Kori remained silent the rest of the way.

He pulled in the driveway of his townhouse. God, this woman would always be able to destroy him completely. When was he ever going to get over her? He still hustled around to the other side to open up Kori's door when they pulled up. She glared at him.

"Chivalry is dead, Richard."

"Not to me it isn't."

She did something strange with her mouth, like she couldn't tell whether to be mad or elated. It gave him a small feeling of power. So she wasn't completely over him either.

They walked in silence through the door, and Kori observed Richards home with wide eyes. He tried to look at it as she saw it. Was it clean enough? Was it too manly? When was the last time he took out the fucking recycling?

"Can I hop in the shower?" she asked.

Oh, my God. Kori, showering in his house? He got excited just thinking about it. "Uh, Star, that's a little dangerous," he said honestly.

"I trust your gentlemanly instincts." She said, ambling down the hall with those swinging hips.

 _I don't even trust myself…_ Richard thought.

Richard waited patiently in the living room, listening as the water came to life from down the hall. He thought when she finally came out he'd be able to talk to her like a rational human being instead of a horny teenager. But that was before Kori walked out wearing only a towel. Her wet hair falling down her chest, dripping water onto her long, bare legs. The way that her eyelashes were glued together with moisture, her lips slightly wet. The noticeable swell of her cleavage. The delicate way that she held the towel up to her chest. "I feel so much better," she said with a smile. "Is there a bedroom where I could spend the night?" He couldn't even speak. He just pointed down the hall. She gave him another sweet smile and walked past him. The delicate scent of soap on her almost made him faint.

Kori, naked in his house?He couldn't help himself. He reached the door and pushed it open.

Kori, completely naked from behind, stretched her arms up and played with her long, wet hair. The sensuous curve of her back and soft golden skin, flowed down with the rivulets of water from her back to her high, small butt cheeks. She had tiny dimples above each cheek. She turned to him, ever so slightly, one hand coming down to lie on her hip. It was enough to prevent him from seeing any more than she wanted him to.

 _I am in heaven._ He thought.

She didn't yell. She barely even really tried to cover herself. She just gave him a small smile. "As long as you're here, want to grab me a cloths?"

Richard stumbled out of the room and walked down to his room in a trance. Was she enjoying the power she had over him? Why was she acting so strange? What was going on in that alien mind of hers?

He came back with one of his t-shirts and some sweatpants, but this time one of her hands stuck outside the door. "Stay out there while I get dressed," she said with a laugh, grabbing the clothes.

 _Damn it._

After a minute, she opened the door in his white V-neck and dark blue police sweatpants, the moisture from her hair already making the outline of her breasts clearly visible. Even more intoxicating, the scent of his soap on her raised something from within him.

She cocked her head at him and smiled. "Thank you."

"No problem," he said, a smile bursting onto his face. "Are you feeling better?"

"Much," she said with a nod. The two had a gravity towards each other. The level of intimacy grew as second ticked away. Their lips came closer and closer… Eventually the two met with a light touch and electricity surged through them. Kori, however, had more resolve than Richard. She pulled away from his warmth and looked at him. "I think we should go to bed."

Richard nodded and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Good night Star."

Kori held the handle to her room and smiled back at Richard, feeling nostalgic at hearing her old name again. "Good night Richard."

* * *

\- What is to come for our hero's? Will they band together to stop Slade? Or is it already too late? And what is Slade's master plan? Stay tuned!

\- Hope you guys enjoyed, don't forget to follow and favorite if you liked this and want to hear more!


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